Australia's official interest rate is quickly approaching zero, but if you are in the market for a new home and have not yet taken out a mortgage, you may already be too late., has already occurred.
If individual lenders were unable to pass rate reductions on in full, they were able to refinance with an alternative lender.While low interest rates are good news for borrowers, they are bad news for those trying to save for a house deposit. Banks have increased their lending standards in response to tougher regulations by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, effectively making it much more difficult for new borrowers to obtain credit.
In normal times, the RBA targets an inflation rate between 2 per cent and 3 per cent for economic stability.A number of countries with very low inflation rates have established unconventional monetary policy with negative interest rates.