Over 40,000 caught by fixed rate mortgages

According to the ABS, approximately 43,632 borrowers took out fixed rate home loans between March and September 2008, when interest rates were at the peak.

A mortgagee with a fixed rate loan of $500,000 beginning in March 2008 would now be paying $800 more a month than if they had opted for a variable rate. Borrowers looking to refinance their loan face break fees of thousands of dollars, including an economic cost fee that compensates the lender for interest that would have been paid under the original loan contract