• A survey by BNZ indicates 20 per cent of people with mortgages will extend the term of their loan to cope with rising interest rates.

The BNZ Financial Futures research suggested that homeowners could cope with smaller rises in servicing costs, but once increases past $120 a fortnight, they would struggle.

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MICHAEL BRADLEY/FAIRFAX NZ

Many people haven’t made the most of nearly a decade of low interest rates, and would have to cut spending to cope with mortgage repayment increases.