LOCAL property agents say interest rate hikes won’t deter people from moving to one of the fastest-growing regions in Australia.
“We live in a perfect area, the Gold Coast corridor and Brisbane corridor have expanded, and we are perfectly located in the middle,” Elders Real Estate principal Sharnelle James said.
“Make sure when you buy a property that you can afford it now, allowing for the interest rates to increase further and maintain your property while you own it, that way if you need to sell you will have an attractive property.”
Ms James said local suburbs were “awesome” value for money, in terms of real estate assets and the local lifestyle.
The Reserve Bank of Australia last week lifted the cast rate from 0.1% to 0.35% – higher and sooner than many predicted.
The nation’s big four banks have announced they will pass this rate rise to customers in full, with Commonwealth, ANZ, Westpac and NAB making the change by May 20.
Brad Scott from 4 Real Estate said the rise was unlikely to affect the current boom.
“Queensland has done so good with the overall Covid-19 situation and that has helped the market immensely,” he said.
“People always put family first and where you raise your family is very important and I believe that the overall feeling in Queensland is a safer bet than other states.
“People have realised that having your own place and space is very important and since more people are working from home, travel is not such a big issue.”
Mr Scott said local prices were still a long way off those of Melbourne and Sydney, which meant the local market still had room to move.
“We always knew the interest rates would rise again; it was just a question of when it would happen,” he said.
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Antonia Mercorella said local markets would weather the storm.
“We know that consumer confidence is key, and this move by the RBA will certainly make people stop and think more carefully about how much they are prepared to borrow, because it’s a timely reminder that interest rates can and do go up,” Ms Mercorella said.
“While on the face of it, it’s not an insignificant rise, in the grand scheme of things interest rates have been at historic lows for some time and are still very low.
“This is also where our relative affordability is an advantage, as our average home loan rate is much lower than in capital cities like Sydney and Melbourne, and so the impact will be felt less here.”
She said some might be frightened by the hike, particularly when the public were given assurances that the rate wouldn’t go up until 2024.
“The need and demand for housing is irrespective, and an interest rate rise simply causes people to rethink what they are prepared to spend and how big of a loan they are prepared to enter into,” she said.
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