Rate hold a positive move for housing market

Century 21, the largest real estate sales organisation in the Asia Pacific region, believes that the decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep interest rates on hold in September should bode well for the residential real estate market as the spring selling season commences.

"At its September meeting, the Reserve Bank elected to keep the official cash rate on hold at a historic low of 2.50 per cent," said Chairman and Owner of Century 21 Australasia, Charles Tarbey.

"This move should help to maintain attractive borrowing conditions for prospective property buyers and existing mortgage holders, and may lead to increased buying activity in the coming months."

The Reserve Bank reasoned that it was appropriate to leave the cash rate on hold, but said it would continue to assess the outlook and adjust policy as needed to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation outcomes consistent with the target rate.

The Reserve Bank's decision follows the recent release of RP Data-Rismark's Hedonic Home Value Index results, which showed that median home values In Australia's capital cities rose 0.5 per cent in August 2013, to be up 5.3 per cent on August 2012.

"While it's impossible to be sure of how this latest rate decision will affect market activity, there is a distinct possibility that more buyers will step off the sidelines over spring to take advantage of improving market conditions and increasingly attractive mortgage rates," concluded Charles Tarbey.

Century 21 encourages prospective buyers that are looking to purchase real estate to ensure they have obtained the appropriate professional property and finance advice before doing so.

For more information about the residential property market in your areas of interest, please feel free to stop by your local Century 21 Real Estate office for clear and expert advice.


Disclaimer: The opinions posted within this blog are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of CENTURY 21 Australia, others employed by CENTURY 21 Australia or the organisations with which the network is affiliated. The author takes full responsibility for his opinions and does not hold CENTURY 21 or any third party responsible for anything in the posted content. The author freely admits that his views may not be the same as those of his colleagues, or third parties associated with the CENTURY 21 Australia network.