Australia's central bank selling Sydney mansion

The Reserve Bank of Australia is seeking to sell a 9,902 sq ft residential property in a harbourside suburb of Sydney amid the highest home prices the city has seen.

No price guide was given for the property in Kirribilli, a suburb four kilometres north of the city centre, where the median house price was A$2.35 million (HK$16.4 million), according to the website.

The RBA is putting the house up for sale after its record-low 2.5 per cent benchmark interest rate helped drive a 13.4 per cent gain in Sydney dwelling prices in the 12 months to January 31. While home prices are at a record, the country's jobless rate is at a decade-high six per cent, shrinking the likelihood of a rate increase that could arrest further price surges.

"It's a seller's market quite clearly; there are plenty of buyers out there, not many listings, and prices are rising, so it's not a bad time to sell," said Louis Christopher, managing director of real-estate data provider SQM Research. "It's a little bit perplexing as to why the RBA was holding residential property."

Rachael Wright, marketing agent at Ray White, declined to comment on the listing, which shows the house has been split into two apartments.