Rate hold accompanies improving housing market

Century 21 believes that the decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to leave the official cash rate on hold will help to create ongoing stability for those Australians looking to secure finance for a property purchase.

"At its April meeting the Reserve Bank elected to keep the official cash rate at three per cent for a fifth consecutive month," said Chairman and Owner of Century 21 Australasia, Charles Tarbey.

"Century 21 has witnessed notable increases in buyer activity and buyer inquiry of late and, with this latest rate hold, this positive trend should continue provided that there are no major shocks within domestic or international economic environments."

As part of its decision, the Reserve Bank reasoned that it was prudent to leave the cash rate unchanged as inflation is likely to be consistent with the target rate while economic growth will likely be slightly below trend over the coming year.

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 1.3 per cent in March. The monthly increase saw capital city dwelling values rise 2.8 per cent over the March quarter – the strongest quarterly result since March 2010.

"In addition to rising capital city dwelling values, factors such as strengthening auction clearance rates and improving housing affordability in many markets are encouraging indicators of both the current state of the national housing market and the potential for continued improvements over the course of 2013," 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 expert and clear advice. Additionally, if you would like to speak to a mortgage professional about suitable loan packages, please contact Century 21 Home Loans


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.