A top economist says Australian borrowers should prepare for an end to the period of “cheap credit” and expect mortgage interest rates to remain higher than in the pre-COVID years. The warning is framed around a post-COVID economic environment in which funding costs and broader interest-rate pressures do not quickly return to earlier low levels. The articles stress that while interest rates can move up and down, the overall direction is toward a sustained higher-rate setting rather than a return to consistently inexpensive borrowing. The economist’s message is directed at mortgage holders, highlighting that financing conditions may be structurally different going forward, even if rates change with policy and market developments. Taken together, the reporting emphasizes the durability of higher interest costs and the need for households to plan for mortgage repayments under a new baseline for borrowing costs.