The Australian Government Services Minister, Bill Shorten, has avoided calling the current financial hardship faced by households a “household catastrophe.” He acknowledged that families were struggling to keep up with the increased cost of their mortgages due to high-interest rates and inflation. Shorten stated that the government was attempting to help with inflation, while also repairing the budget, relieving the cost of living, and addressing blockages in the economy. However, Stephen Halmarick, the chief economist at Commonwealth Bank, believes that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) may need to reduce interest rates by the end of 2023 due to the negative impact high-interest rates, inflation, and rising taxes have had on household incomes. The RBA has paused moving interest rates after ten consecutive hikes, providing temporary relief for homeowners whose mortgage payments have skyrocketed since last year. Despite the rising mortgage rates, CoreLogic’s property researcher, Eliza Owen, stated that there is room for cautious optimism about the Australian housing market. She noted that the value of properties has been buoyed by migration and supply issues, and there have been limited increases in home loan defaults or forced sales.