The rising cost of living has seen an increase in the amount of people looking to refinance their home loans and seeking a lower interest rate.

The current interest rates on average are between 5.39% (comparison rate 5.43%) and up to 7.02% (comparison rate 7.40%).

Willow Financial Services senior mortgage broker Anne Quick said she had definitely noticed more people being affected by the rising cost of living including through interest rates and an increase in grocery items.

“People are getting very concerned especially about how they are going to meet their monthly repayments,” she said.

“People will not be able to spend as their cash flow will be dramatically reduced just to meet their monthly repayments let alone everything else that is going up.

“There are several options out there for those struggling, people could try and refinance their loans to a longer term if it helps.

“Some banks may consider interest only for a period of time.

“You could lock your rate in so you have certainty of repayments going forward or if you are suffering from hardship most banks are there to help you as much as they can.”