SYDNEY: Australian house prices rebounded last month as buyers jumped into the market in anticipation of the first interest-rate cut in more than four years which the Reserve Bank (RBA) then delivered two weeks ago.
The Home Value Index for major cities advanced 0.3% in February after two months of declines, property consultancy CoreLogic Inc said in a statement yesterday.
Sydney and Melbourne, the nation’s two largest markets, both recorded gains, as did all other cities except Darwin. Melbourne’s increase snapped a 10-month run of falling prices.
“Expectations of lower interest rates, which solidified in February, look to be flowing through to improved buyer sentiment,” said Tim Lawless, research director at CoreLogic. “Along with the modest rise in values, we have also seen an improvement in auction clearance rates.”
The rise in prices came as the RBA on Feb 18 lowered rates by a quarter-percentage point to 4.1%, a decision that had been widely expected in the run up to the meeting.
“The return to growth across Sydney and Melbourne is being driven by the more expensive end of the market,” CoreLogic said.
The report showed national rents rose by 0.6% in February, a relatively strong result but still well below the 0.9% rise recorded a year earlier. — Bloomberg
