A 'boomer' homeowner has called on young Australians with mortgages to toughen up following the first interest rate rise in more than a decade.

The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday announced a 0.25 percentage point increase in the official cash rate, which saw it climb to 0.35 per cent from a record low of 0.1 per cent.

The first increase since November 2010 will see variable mortgage rates from the big banks rise to 2.54 per cent from 2.29 per cent in coming weeks.

But Perth retiree Ron de Gruchy, 85, believes younger Australians should stop whinging about the rate hike, telling The West Australian that he 'adjusted' to 17 per cent RBA interest rates in 1990.

'The high interest rates were a real squeeze on finances but you just adjusted,' he said. 

Mr de Gruchy says he lived a 'frugal' life while paying back his mortgage. 

That frugality included no nights out, overseas travel or trips to the casino. 

'Back then, people didn't complain - they just adjusted,' he said. 

'Higher interest rates are not the end of the world but I think youngsters have got it pretty good.'

While the demographic term baby boomer refers to those born from 1946 to 1965, the term 'boomer' has recently been turned into a disparaging term for older people lecturing the younger generations about being frugal.

During the past three decades, mortgage debt-to-income ratios have more than doubled, with property prices surging at a much faster pace than wages.

In 1990, Sydney's median house price stood at $194,000, Macquarie University figures showed.

With a 20 per cent deposit, an average, 바카라사이트 full-time worker on a $28,168 salary had a debt-to-income ratio of 5.5.

Perth's median house price was $101,125 which meant a full-time worker then with a mortgage deposit had a very small debt-to-income ratio of 2.9.