The RBA held the cash rate at 4.35% today.

No surprise there.

All four major banks had tipped a hold, and after the softer inflation print in late July, that was where most people expected the Board to land.

But if you switched off at “rates on hold”, you missed the more interesting part. Because the message underneath today’s decision was pretty clear: Inflation is still too high, the RBA knows it, and another rate rise is absolutely not off the table.

That’s what Ben Kingsley and Evan Lucas unpacked live following the announcement — and there was a lot more going on than the headline suggested.

The Board explicitly left the door open to increasing the cash rate again if inflation risks move in the wrong direction, while Ben and Evan also dug into the stubborn cost-of-living pressures households are still facing, the slowdown taking place across the property market and why the next few inflation reads will be so important.

Watch the full replay →

What does today’s hold mean for mortgage holders?

For mortgage holders, today’s decision means there is no immediate increase to repayments as a direct result of the RBA announcement.

That’s the good news.

The less comfortable news?

The cash rate is still sitting at 4.35%, and the impact of this year’s three rate rises is still flowing through household budgets.

For a borrower with a $700,000 variable-rate mortgage, the cumulative 75 basis points of increases this year could mean hundreds of dollars more in monthly repayments compared with the start of the year, depending on their interest rate, loan term and structure.

And with the RBA explicitly keeping the possibility of another increase alive, this probably isn’t the environment for putting your mortgage on autopilot.

Is your mortgage still competitive?

Now is a good time to check.

That might be as simple as calling your bank and asking them to review your rate.

But if you’d like a clearer picture of what else may be available, our Mortgage Broking team at Empower Wealth can review your current loan, compare the market and help you understand whether there may be an opportunity to negotiate, refinance or restructure.

Because when rates are this high, “set and forget” can quietly become expensive.