Staff Reporter
The Reserve Bank’s decision to leave the official cash rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent has been labelled as the “only sensible decision available” by the Housing Industry Association.
"There is no room for an interest rate hike which would be nothing but blight on the current Australian economic landscape," HIA chief economist Dr Harley Dale said.
With new housing activity subdued in recent months and home buyer confidence fragile, Mr Dale believes any rate hike in the foreseeable future will place further strain on the market.
“Household confidence appears fragile, caught as it is in a pincer movement between interest rate uncertainty and post-GFC blues on the one hand and the constant dribble about a fictitious house price bubble on the other," he said.
"In this environment a rate hike would do considerably more damage than might have historically been expected, not in the least to the housing industry, and the Reserve Bank Board seem to understand that. They need to keep understanding that for the foreseeable future."
