HOMEBUYERS defied the looming interest rate rise with more than 70 per cent of houses sold on a bumper auction day in Melbourne yesterday.

More than $330 million changed hands at auction and $205 million in private sales.
Yesterday, 838 houses were auctioned, compared with 542 the previous week, setting a record for the year.

The clearance rate held at 72 per cent despite warnings the Reserve Bank is likely to increase rates to 6.25 per cent on Melbourne Cup Day.

The expected hike of 0.25 percentage points, designed to control inflation, would add $40 a month to the repayments on an average $250,000 mortgage.

Buyers advocate David Morrell, of Morrell and Koren, said top-end properties were selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars above expectations.

Posted: 10|28|06 at 5:49 pm. Filed under: Property News.