Property Brief - October 2023

The positive quarter-on-quarter increase of 3% in the number of home loan applications between July and September 2023 could signal a bottoming out of the downward trend that kicked in Q4 2021, when the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) embarked on its restrictive approach. Although the year-on-year figure is down 20%, inflation is now firmly under control and close to the mid-point of the Reserve Bank target range. The MPC is therefore running out of reasons to keep interest rates at 15-year highs and higher than pre-pandemic levels. Should interest rates start coming down, it could herald an upswing in the residential property market.