The Reserve Bank’s R4 billion gift to South Africa

• The Reserve Bank's decision to keep interest rates unchanged has effectively preserved R3 billion to R4 billion in residential transaction value in the market each month.
• The Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep interest rates unchanged at its July meeting, surprising many economists who had predicted a more hawkish tone, based on the MPC's updated assessment of the balance of risks in the economy.
• The decision is seen as a positive for the property market, with Blok CFO Nic Tromp describing it as an 'unexpected gift', and may help to boost economic growth prospects, which the Reserve Bank sees as facing downside risks.