Australian house prices 'up strongly in October'

Australian house prices rose strongly in October, a new survey has indicated.

Figures from the RP Data Rismark Survey showed that the average home value jumped by 1.4 per cent in the month, up from 0.4 per cent in September.

The research firm noted that this meant the mean house price had increased by ten per cent in the first ten months of 2009, compared with a 3.8 per cent dip throughout 2008.

Such a trend suggests recent interest rate changes have not dampened positive sentiment, according to RP Data senior research analyst Simon Kusher.

He stated: "The strong growth figures throughout October after a slowdown during September show that the market is very resilient and that the 25 basis point interest rate increase during the month has not immediately impacted [the] market."

However, the level of growth will be moderated by more rate rises in the coming months, he suggested.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will decide on interest rates again this week, but economics correspondent for the Australian David Uren argued that it should hold back from a rise in light of the uncertainty in the global economic system resulting from the crisis in Dubai.

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