Confidence integral to health of economy: REIQ
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) was disappointed with the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision not to cut cash rates yesterday (February 7), charging that an opportunity to provide "much-needed relief for small-businesses and homeowners" was squandered.
Chief executive officer, Anton Kardash argued that small businesses employ half of Australia's private sector and "deserve rate relief as much as anyone else."
15,000 real estate professionals are employed by REIQ, assisting customers with residential and commercial real estate investment throughout 1,500 agencies across Queensland.
Real estate agencies, like many small businesses, would benefit from a lower cash rate - and the REIQ chief was also quick to point out that a reduction in interest would also go a long way to support homebuyers.
He added that confidence had been growing amongst buyers and sellers and could have used an extra boost:
"You cannot overestimate how important confidence is to the overall health of our economy," he said.
Real Estate Institute of New South Wales CEO Tim McKibbin was also surprised by the decision, asserting a general consensus of a 25 basis point drop was expected.
However, Mr McKibbin remains confident: "I think it is still likely the central bank will cut rates this year."
