Vendor waiting on interest rates? What to say on RBA day

Late August. The appraisal's done and she's walking you out to the gate. "We'll wait and see what rates do," she says.

In the car you type it into the CRM. Waiting on rates.

It's a good note. It's exactly what she said. And on Reserve Bank decision day, it runs out.

What the Reserve Bank decided on 29 September 2026

At 2:30pm on Tuesday 29 September 2026, the Reserve Bank announced a rise in the cash rate to 4.60 per cent. It's the highest since November 2011.

The change takes effect the next day. The decision is the part your vendors were waiting on, and it's public from 2:30pm. The next decision is Tuesday 3 November 2026, which is Melbourne Cup day.

Why "waiting on rates" means two different things

"Waiting on rates" is two different people saying the same words.

One means it. They're buying their next place, and the move hangs on a loan. Rates really were the thing.

The other is being kind. "Rates" is the nicest way to say not yet. Or not you.

The note in your CRM can't tell them apart. Decision day can, because the thing they were waiting for has now happened. Whichever way the Bank went, the wait has an answer.

What decision day can't tell anyone is whether to sell. That isn't your call, and their loan is the broker's job, not yours. Your job is smaller. Be the agent who rang.

The one question that tells you if they meant it

When the vendor answers, ask one thing:

"What were you hoping they'd do?"

If she has a real answer, she meant it. The next place, or the repayments. Don't talk loans. Say, "That's one for your broker. I'll send you the sales on your street tonight."

If she goes vague, something like "oh, just seeing how things go", rates were never the reason. Don't push. Say, "No rush. What would make it the right time?" Then write down her answer in her own words.

The text to send on decision day

Most agents send the news. It sounds like this:

"Hi Helen, just checking in after today's rate news. Let me know if you'd like a market update."

It's about the news, and she's had the news all day.

Send her own words back instead, with your name up front, because she may not have your number saved:

"Hi Helen, it's Dan. In August you said you'd wait and see what rates did. Today we found out. Want me to send what's sold on your street since?"

It quotes her. It gives her a reason, and the reason is hers.

How to find everyone waiting on rates

Search your CRM notes for "rates", then for "wait and see". A search for "rate" on its own also catches words like "separate" and "corporate", so use the full word.

If your CRM won't search notes, open every appraisal from the last six months and read those.

Keep the ones who named rates as their reason. Leave the rest for another day. For the vendors who went quiet for other reasons, see how to follow up past appraisals that went quiet.

What to write in the note afterwards

Rewrite the note straight after the conversation, in her words, not yours.

If she meant it, the note might read: "Buying next. Broker's running numbers. Wants the sales on her street monthly."

If she didn't, it might read: "Not rates. Youngest finishes school end of next year. Ring in October."

Both beat "waiting on rates". Each one tells you what to do next, and when. If her answer is a plain "not yet", what to say when a vendor isn't ready to sell picks up from there.

The 2026 decision days to put in your diary

The Reserve Bank published all eight of its 2026 decision dates in February 2025. Each is announced at 2:30pm Sydney time, on a Tuesday.

• 3 February
• 17 March
• 5 May
• 16 June
• 11 August
• 29 September
• 3 November (Melbourne Cup day)
• 8 December

Queensland doesn't use daylight saving, so from October the announcement lands at 1:30pm in Brisbane.

Put the next date in your diary with the names under it. When a vendor says "let's see what they do next time", next time has a date. On the day, you've already got the words: "You said we'd see what November did. Now we know."

Rate day is ring day.

Your quiet vendors are the ones worth ringing first. NeuraCall works your own database with personalised email and text in your name, and you make every call. If your list has gone quiet, book a discovery call. There's more on reactivating a dormant database if you'd rather start there.

None of this is financial or credit advice. The dates and the cash rate come from the Reserve Bank of Australia's own pages.

Sources

• Reserve Bank of Australia, "Statement by the Monetary Policy Board: Monetary Policy Decision", media release mr-26-27, 29 September 2026, rba.gov.au/media-releases/2026/mr-26-27.html
• Reserve Bank of Australia, "2026 Monetary Policy Board Meeting Dates", media release mr-25-02, 10 February 2025, rba.gov.au
• Reserve Bank of Australia, Cash Rate Target, rba.gov.au/statistics/cash-rate
• Reserve Bank of Australia, Monetary Policy Decisions 2026, rba.gov.au/monetary-policy/int-rate-decisions