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Staff Reporter
More than 60 per cent of potential home buyers will look to purchase a property in the immediate future.
According to a recent straw poll by Loan Market Group, 62 per cent of the 785 respondents said they were now more interested to purchase real estate following the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut the cash rate.
More than 40 per cent said their interest had risen slightly while 20 per cent believed they were ready to buy now.
Loan Market Group spokesperson Paul Smith said 15 per cent of those surveyed were waiting for more interest rate cuts and 23 per cent reported that this month’s 25 basis points reduction – which lowered the cash rate to 3.25 per cent – had made no impact on them.
“It’s a positive for the market that the latest RBA rate cut coupled with the 75 basis point reductions earlier in the year have clearly stimulated consumers,” he said.
“Downward rate movements are an obvious advantage to those looking to purchase property and it’s equally welcomed by households that have had their repayments reduced so they can combat other rising costs of living.
“Although not every lender has adjusted their cash rate in-step with the RBA, a considerable amount of competition has opened up in the market because of rates dropping, particularly with fixed versus variable rates.”
Mr Smith said while the outlook for rates remained bearish for the months ahead, there would still remain a group of consumers who were less concerned about RBA rate movements over other aspects of the economy.
“There is still a core group of people who are waiting to see the direction of the overall economy before they consider purchasing property,” he said.
“The RBA has plenty of ammunition to respond to any further deterioration of the economy and some economists are even predicting the cash rate could go below 3.0 per cent before the end of this year, or in early 2013.”
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