A useful site to bookmark and monitor for your investing is the ASX Target Rate Tracker site
You can see a forecast 18 months ahead of what is expected to happen to the cash rate, which is a very important indicator of what will happen to your variable rate loan, based on what market participants are saying with their wallets, and not their mouths. To make a complex subject relatively simple I will make a few points.
1) This prediction tool is constantly revising it’s view and adjusting it’s ‘forecast’ based on latest information available
2) It’s a snapshot best prediction at a point in time only and even though the best tool out there it’s no magic crystal ball
3) Economists and pundits would mostly go broke if they were forced to trade their opinions against the market. Strangely enough this never stops people craving the views of someone who can portray themselves as an ‘expert’
In terms of deciding whether to fix or keep part or all of your mortgage debt variable it’s likely better to view this decision purely in terms of a risk control measure, something to consider doing when you can’t afford to take on interest rate risk. The reason this is such a powerful strategy is that attempting to profitably time interest rate fluctuations is chaotically difficult.
Mr Market is forecasting little interest rate cutting in our future as of March 19th 2013, simply watch the tracker website and monitor how he changes his views!
