Mozo Live: NSW economic scorecard, gains in Aussie housing values, steady credit card rates, and market volatility

Today’s blog is now closed. You can follow banking news and interest rate decisions on our latest live blog.

While it’s difficult to say for certain, global market turbulence may be emboldening Aussies to shift from potentially volatile investments like stocks and shares, towards more traditionally stable assets like savings accounts and term deposits.

Earlier today, as the world braced for the fallout from US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff blitz, investors had wiped a massive $26.2 billion off the Australian sharemarket. 

From the outset of 2025, Australians appeared to be moving their money into conventionally safer assets. Total resident deposits reached approximately $14.25 billion in February, according to the latest authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) statistics from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). While this figure includes various deposit types, it signals a growing preference for stability as markets react to heightened uncertainty.

NAB’s Market Review: March 2025 found equities have been volatile, with banks taking a hit in March due to disappointing earnings updates, concerns over bad debts, and tighter interest margins post-RBA rate cut.

The review laid out some of the key risks investors might watch for:

• Persistence of inflation above central bank targets.
• Deterioration in credit quality across Australian banks.
• Resource sector volatility due to fluctuating Chinese demand.
• Weakness in growth stocks as the market rotates to cheaper segments.

With such unpredictability, more Australians could be shifting towards alternative investment options that offer stability, such as term deposits, high-interest savings accounts, and flexible financial strategies like ‘term deposit laddering’. While APRA’s data doesn’t explicitly separate savings from term deposits, the sizeable inflow into deposits suggests a growing appetite for lower-risk wealth preservation strategies.

If market jitters persist, we could see an even stronger push toward cash-based investments in the future – stay tuned to our live blog for updates.

That’s it from us today. See you tomorrow for more finance news!

There’s been a lot of movement in the credit card space this past month, but it hasn’t come through in rate cuts. Most of the changes have been to introductory offers. Some providers have sweetened the deal, but most have gone the other way, cutting back bonus points, shortening balance transfer periods or scrapping cashback offers altogether.

Here are some of the more noteworthy changes we’ve seen:

Credit card bonus offers changes

Current standout offers

Despite the scale-back in perks, a few cards are still offering strong value in various categories.

Bottom line

It's clear that promotional offers have been on the chopping block lately. That said, there are still some solid deals around if you take a closer squiz. So why not take the opportunity to compare your reward card options here at Mozo?

Recent data releases have highlighted the poor performance of Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, particularly in the areas of economic growth and property development.

Today, the Institute of Public Affairs – a non-profit public policy think tank – released its second annual State Economic Scorecard, which ranks the performance of Australian states on key indicators.

The report exposed New South Wales (NSW) as Australia’s worst overall performing state. The scorecard shows NSW had the weakest retail trade record over the past year, coupled with the highest rental costs.

Here’s a breakdown of the other states’ economic performance:

• Queensland stands as the nation's top-performing state, boasting the lowest state debt and the most favourable energy prices.
• Tasmania climbed to second place, leading in per capita economic growth, wage increases, productivity gains, and the lowest rental costs in the country.
• Western Australia dropped from first to third. While it still holds the lowest tax burden, strongest job growth, and best retail trade conditions, weaker economic growth, wages, productivity, and rising rents pose challenges.
• South Australia slipped from second place in 2024 to fourth in 2025, largely due to having the worst energy price outcomes in the country.
• Victoria remains the nation's second-worst performing state, burdened by the highest taxes and state debt, plus sluggish economic and job growth.

Property development is another tough issue facing NSW residents. The latest dwelling approvals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that there were just 313 new apartment approvals in the Premier State in February. Meanwhile, Victoria recorded a rise in apartment approvals with 2,294 new apartments approved in the same month. You can see a state-by-state comparison in the chart below.

However, late last month the NSW government announced it would deliver 112,000 homes over the next five years, admitting that, “without these changes, New South Wales risks becoming a state without a future because it’s simply too expensive to put a roof over your head.”

If you’re living in NSW and are suffering from steep rental costs or struggling to meet your mortgage repayments, you can use Mozo’s guides and comparison tables to seek out helpful solutions.

Australian home values rose in February (0.3%) before increasing again in March (0.4%), according to the latest research from property insights provider CoreLogic.

After cutting the cash rate for the first time in four years in February 2025, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) decided to hold rates at their meeting earlier this week. However, the 25 basis point cut from 4.35% to 4.10% has been enough to deliver two consecutive months of rising property values across the country.

Mortgage repayments on a $500k variable rate loan were only reduced by around $81/month, according to the Westpac/Melbourne Institute index. But, as can be seen in the chart below, consumer sentiment jumped to a three-year high in March.

“The flow on effect from the uptick in sentiment should translate into increased selling activity,” CoreLogic executive, research director, Asia-Pacific Tim Lawless said.

What’s ahead?

CoreLogic research suggests the outlook for interest rates remains positive, with the cash rate “likely” to come down further this year, albeit gradually. If core inflation remains below the top of the RBA’s target band (2-3%) – a second rate cut is “highly probable”.

Economists at the Big Four banks are forecasting between one and three more cuts in 2025, while financial markets have two more rate cuts priced in this year.

“If you're a borrower holding out for another rate cut, maybe it's time to ask yourself why you're waiting for the RBA to cut your rate for you, when there's ample opportunity to give yourself a bigger rate cut by shopping around," Mozo money & finance expert Rachel Wastell said.