Cash rate left unchanged

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has announced the cash rate will remain at 1.5 per cent.

The decision to keep rates on hold was arguably one of the safer bets today, with the outcome widely anticipated by the market.

The performance of the housing market was likely a key topic of discussion among RBA board members, with CoreLogic’s October results, also released today, showing a further 0.5 per cent rise in dwelling values across the capital cities.

Since the first rate cut this year in May, CoreLogic’s hedonic index has increased by 4 per cent across the combined capitals, with more substantial rises reported in Sydney and Melbourne.

With the cash rate on hold, mortgage rates are likely to remain at the lowest level since the mid-1960s.

Ninety per cent of experts and economists asked by finder.com.au were anticipating a cash rate hold this month, though the majority of experts (69 per cent) are tipping a rate cut in the first half of next year.

An analysis by finder.com.au found the RBA cut rates on the first Tuesday of November just four times in the past 26 years.

The last two instances were on Melbourne Cup days in 2011 and 2008, but prior to that, it was more than 20 years ago in 1996.

View all articles by Angela Young »

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