News Australia

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates by 50 basis points in an unexpected move that should provide welcome relief to many homeowners. The reduction takes the official cash rate to 3.75 percent. Damian Smith CEO of financial comparison site RateCity called the RBA’s decision "a very big move". "They haven’t moved rates [...]

  Australia’s housing sector has called on the reserve bank to deliver a 50 basis point interest rate cut after a survey showed new home sales have fallen to their lowest level in more than a decade. The Housing Industry Association (HIA), which represents the residential building industry, says new home sales dropped 9.4 per [...]

The board of the Reserve Bank of Australia has left the official cash rate at 4.25 percent for the second month in a row. The move was widely expected with inflation at the bottom of the RBA’s target band of 2-3 percent and global economic conditions improving. However, the news may not be met with [...]

The Reserve Bank of Australia board has kept interest rates on hold, leaving the official cash rate at 4.25 percent. The shock move comes as many parts of the economy continue to struggle with the side effects of the mining boom. Data published yesterday showed retail trade contracted 0.1 percent in December, traditionally the sector’s [...]

  The Board of the Reserve Bank meets tomorrow. In July last year Westpac forecast that the next easing cycle would total 100bps beginning near year’s end. Subsequently, the Board decided to ease the overnight cash rate by 25bps in both November and December. Based on current information, we continue to expect a further 50bps [...]

Ongoing discount loans lose momentum Borrowers’ preference for fixed rate home loans is continuing at an unrelenting pace regardless of recent cash rate cuts, national loan approval data from Mortgage Choice has revealed. Fixed rate loans accounted for 24% of all new home loan approvals during December 2011, up from 21% in November and well [...]

The Reserve Bank of Australia board has cut the official interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent, giving mortgage holders and borrowers a pre-Christmas reprieve. The RBA announced the rate cut at 2.30pm AEDT today following the board’s final meeting for the year. It’s the second interest rate cut in as many [...]

Economists are divided on whether borrowers will get a second interest rate cut in as many months on Tuesday. Seven of the 14 economists surveyed by AAP say the RBA will cut the cash rate to 4.25 per cent from 4.5 per cent on December 6. On Melbourne Cup day, the Reserve Bank of Australia [...]

Fixed term mortgages hit 3.5 year high in October Basic variable rates were the most popular with new home loan borrowers only 11 months ago, but today they have been far surpassed by ongoing discount rates and fixed rates, according to loan approval data from Mortgage Choice, Australia’s largest independently-owned mortgage broker. At that time, [...]

The central bank has decided to keep the cash rate unchanged this month and has opened the door for possible future cuts. The decision was expected, with all 15 economists surveyed last week by AAP predicting the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would keep rates on hold at 4.75 per cent on Tuesday. The central [...]