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RBA reveals March cash rate
In this special announcement, partnered by Legal Home Loans, learn the outcome of the Reserve Bank’s monthly board meeting.
Emma Musgrave
As the property market continues to go from strength to strength, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has revealed its cash rate decision for the month of March.
For Tim McKibbin, chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) and formerly a practising lawyer, the decision was an unsurprising one.
He said buyer access to affordable finance will continue to be a driver of price growth, with mortgage rates also at record lows thanks to the cash rate.
Last week, Mr McKibbin predicted that low rates will be likely to stay “for years to come, even though other signs point to the economy recovering faster than expected, including the encouraging employment figures released recently”.
An abundance of affordable finance and the positive employment outlook have led him to predict continued growth in the property market, with double-digit growth “not out of the question”.
It’s a similar sentiment to what was expressed on Monday by NAB executive for home ownership, Andy Kerr, who was reflecting on the release of CoreLogic and ABS data, which revealed February had seen the fastest month-on-month price value growth since August 2003.
Mr Kerr said it showed “the housing market has quickly shrugged off the challenges of 2020 despite the ongoing COVID-19 impact.”
He, too, pointed to record low-interest rates and strong government support measures as having proven “the backbone” of the recent housing recovery.
“We expect the low rates to continue to support prices, particularly while there is strong job creation,” he outlined.
“Given this backdrop, we are forecasting house price growth of 10 per cent in capital cities this year. Apartment prices are also likely to rise, but at a slower pace, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne.”
As a result, Mr Kerr and NAB “anticipate house price growth will remain very strong into 2022, before normalising closer to income growth in 2023”.
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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