Residential property prices could spike by 15 per cent if the Reserve Bank is forced to cut rates to below 1.25 per cent in response to any move by the United States to defer raising interest rates, economists have warned.

The dive in the world oil prices, which has occurred over the past five months, was likely to push the US economy into deflation around the middle of the year, which could prompt a delay in anticipated rises to US interest rates from mid-2015 into 2016, Queensland Investment Corporation said.

Ultra-low interest rates would have an extreme impact on house prices, QIC has warned. Credit:James Alcock

"The RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) would have to offset that and cut rates quickly – to 1.25 per cent for a quarter before raising it to 1.5 per cent – but cannot hold them there for very long due to the extreme impact it would have on the housing market," QIC chief economist Matthew Peter said.

"It would give a 15 per cent lift to housing prices."