2 days ago
How rate cut could impact Melb house prices in coming weeks
Experts are forecasting the Reserve Bank's latest rate cut could deliver bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars to some Victorian home sellers' pockets in coming weeks.
It's expected many buyers will race to secure a home following the RBA's 0.25 percentage point rate cut on Tuesday.
Apollo Auctions Australasia general manager and master auctioneer Greg Brydon said a lot of homeseekers were hoping to purchase sooner rather than later.
'Buyers will say to themselves, 'Even if I pay $5000, $10,000, $20,000 more than I wanted to, at least I won't have to compete with a new flood of buyers in the next four to six weeks,' Mr Brydon said.
With pre-approved home loans generally expiring within a standard three-month time frame, buyers approved for a loan after the latest rate cut would have a bit more money to play with, he said.
But Mr Brydon added that if the traditionally-busier spring market was flooded with new stock, there could be less competition among buyers – resulting in a potential scenario where they would not necessarily need to spend more to secure a property.
Ray White Victoria chief auctioneer Jeremy Tyrrell said Melbourne home prices 'are slowly coming back and increasing'.
'We've seen a lot of investors from interstate starting to put their eyeballs back on Melbourne at the moment,' Mr Tyrrell noted.
He said last week's rate cut would boost confidence among both buyers and sellers.
'I don't think we'll see the full effects of that in the this week immediately, but I think as people start to take full advantage of those interest rate cuts – I'd say the next two to four weeks – we should start to see an impact of buyers certainly having slightly deeper pockets and new entrants to the market with confidence to buy,' he said.
With Victorian sale stock levels down 10 to 15 per cent since winter 2024, he is expecting to see more listings pop up as the weather warms up.
'I believe a lot of people have been holding back and waiting for those interest rate cuts and spring,' Mr Tyrrell said.
'And I think those two coming together, we should start to see an influx of property, but at the same time, we'll start to see an influx of buyers with more confidence.'
According to PropTrack, Victoria recorded a preliminary 77.5 per cent clearance rate from 476 early auction results this week.
About 1028 homes across the state are slated to go under the hammer next week.
