Rates rise again
- Written by Tim McKibbin
Rates have risen again as expected, adding to the cost of living pain being experienced by many across the country.
The market craves certainty and that might best take the form of the Reserve Bank being clear on the timing of its final rise in this cycle. Ideally, that will occur before the end of the year.
The increases to date are having an impact and the economic situation more broadly is tenuous. The Treasurer even declared the global economy a ‘dangerous place’ last week.
People are factoring higher repayments into their borrowing calculations and this won't change in the immediate term. Mortgagees could do with a breather though.
While real estate continues to generate doomsaying headlines, actual market activity appears to be flying under the radar.
That's because it's quietly tracking well. Clearance rates continue to hover around the solid 60% mark.
Strong results are being achieved as vendors are increasingly switched on to the new market in which buyers’ budgets are more constrained.
This latest rate rise and the potential for another lift next month should see this trend continue.
But consumers will increasingly demand an end to the rate hike cycle and an opportunity for the dust to settle.