The good news is there should be no more Reserve Bank interest rate rises this year. The bad is that many lenders have raised their rates again regardless. The even worse news is that when the Reserve Bank starts cutting rates, possibly early next year, there's no guarantee your lender will pass on the savings.

How could that be? For two reasons.

First, lenders maintain that, even though most have instituted several unofficial rate rises, they are still out of pocket thanks to the credit crisis driving up the cost of the money they lend to you. If this continues, they will snaffle any official rate cuts for themselves.

Second, rates will stay high whether or not they are officially cut if lenders can get away with it. And they will if fears about the costs and perceived stability of smaller and non-bank lenders during the continuing credit crunch cause enough customers to seek solace in the arms of the big banks.

Analysis by Deutsche Bank shows non-bank lenders' market share of owner-occupied lending has slumped to its lowest level since figures were first collected in 1995, from more than 12 per cent when the credit squeeze began last year to just 4.5 per cent today. Meanwhile, the banks' share has risen to its highest level in a decade, more than 90 per cent.

It was competition from non-bank insurgents that forced the banks to drastically trim their mortgage profit margins a decade ago; a lack thereof will do the exact opposite.

So if ever there was a time to get your home loan in order, it's now.

Start by checking whether your rate is still competitive. The average standard variable rate (SVR) is pushing towards 10 per cent - back to the days of double figures - but our best mortgage rates table on page 8 shows there are plenty of loans less than 9 per cent. Credit union mecu, for instance, is charging just 8.55 per cent, while online lender QuickDirect has an SVR of 8.64 per cent.

Bear in mind, too, that if you are with a bank, you shouldn't be paying the SVR. Banks give many customers a discount of up to 0.7 percentage points - and with home loan approvals in the doldrums, they are desperate to retain business. Ask for the same deal.

Going from 9.7 to 9 per cent on a 25-year, $300,000 loan will cut your loan repayments by $145 and save you $43,599 in total interest. You will save even more if you can manage to keep your repayments at the same level: more than $90,000 (plus you'll repay your loan five years early).

Yet if your lender knocks back your request for a discount and you won't face big exit penalties, don't hesitate to find a new one.

If you need an added incentive and higher interest, fuel and grocery costs have you feeling the pinch, remortgaging will spread your repayments over a fresh 25 years so they will fall significantly. And you can cut them further by taking out the new loan not over 25 but 30 years.

This will probably mean you pay more in interest overall but, if you are struggling each month to meet your repayments, a higher long-term outlay will be of very little relevance.

The Rudd Government says it is on track to implement its package to make bank switching easier by November. Just remember the long game: the more mortgagees who abandon the little lenders, the higher your rates will ultimately go.

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