Auctions surge following RBA cut
First home buyer activity has received a boost from the Reserve Bank’s rate cut.
First home buyer activity has received a boost from the Reserve Bank’s rate cut.Auctions saw a surge of action on the weekend, with CoreLogic figures showing the year’s highest auction clearance rate of 74.9%, the Australian Financial Review has reported. Sydney saw a clearance rate of more than 80%. Melbourne also saw a strong clearance rate, at 76.1%.
Auctioneer Damien Cooley told the AFR the Reserve Bank’s official cash rate cut last week has spurred investor and first home buyer activity, in spite of banks failing to pass on the rate cut in full.
"Given interest rates are so low, investors are stepping in and buying real estate even though they are not getting the incredible return on yield, they are happy with the growth play,” Cooley told the AFR.
Cooley said first home buyer activity was up considerably, but that first-time buyers were “still getting beaten to the punch” by investors.
First home buyers who did find success often had help from their parents, Belle Property agent Maria Magrin told the AFR.
"This is the newest buyer demographic in our area – 20- and 30-somethings buying with mum and dad. We rarely see first home buyers purchasing on their own these days," she said.
