Mozo Live: Property auctions less competitive, possible recession and 5 savings mistakes to avoid

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Consumer confidence ticked up marginally following the government’s federal budget announcement in late March, according to ANZ-Roy Morgan data.

Despite this slight increase, 45% of Australians surveyed say their families are ‘worse off’ financially than they were a year ago – a number that has remained unchanged year-on-year.

Still, consumer confidence is now 4.9 points higher than it was year-on-year, but only 1 in 5 Australians (19%) responded that their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year.

ANZ economist, Sophia Angala, highlighted that its survey has only identified an increase of 1.7 points compared to just before the RBA cut the cash rate.

“The lack of material increase in recent weeks may reflect recent global trade uncertainty, which has likely offset some of the upward pressure on confidence from stronger domestic economic conditions,” she says.

“It should be noted that last week’s survey period did not capture the weekend (5–6 April) and mostly occurred before the latest US tariff announcements.”

If you find yourself among those feeling uncertain and you’re unsure of where to park your money, it’s worthwhile checking your savings account interest rate, and seeing if you can get a better deal by switching.

Thanks for joining us on the live blog today – we’ll catch you again tomorrow.

Multiple providers in the Mozo database have cut their term deposit rates this week, which could be an early indication of how some banks are feeling about the Reserve Bank’s upcoming meeting in May.

Here’s a recap of some of the term deposit rate changes that have come through this week:

• NAB has cut its term deposit rates by up to 1.00% p.a. This has seen its leading rate of 4.50% p.a. drop down 3.50% p.a. for its 8-month term deposit.

• Westpac has lowered its 11-month term deposit by 30 basis points, now sitting at 4.20% p.a.

• St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA, which all fall under the Westpac banner, cut their 11-month term deposits by 30 basis points, bringing them all in line at 4.20% p.a.

• Macquarie has made adjustments across multiple term deposit tiers, with the biggest cut coming to its one-year rate with a drop of 0.25% – that makes it 4.00% p.a.

• Bankwest has sliced 50 basis points off its one-year term deposit, bringing it down to 4.00% p.a. Other reductions have been made across deposit terms.

• Judo Bank has cut up to 35 basis points off its range of term deposits, with that 0.35% cut coming to its four-year term. Judo’s leading rate is now 4.80% p.a., down from 4.90% p.a. for its 6-month term.

• Rabobank has made changes across its term deposit rates, with cuts of up to 40 basis points. However, its six-month rate actually increased from 4.40% p.a. to 4.50% p.a.

What does this mean for interest rates?

We asked our personal finance expert Rachel Wastell what this wave of term deposit cuts could mean for Aussies and the RBA’s upcoming interest rate decision.

“When the banks start cutting term deposit rates at the same time, it’s usually not a coincidence. It’s more likely they’re preparing for a rate cut from the RBA next month by adjusting early to protect their margins,” says Wastell.

And her suggestion for savers? These term deposit cuts serve as a reminder that the window for locking in competitive term deposit rates is starting to close.

“All the Big Four banks now expect the RBA to cut the cash rate in May, so these cuts are in line with those expectations,” she says.

“If you’re a saver looking for a competitive term deposit rate, you should do so quickly and be sure to look at challenger lenders that are offering the leading rates, rather than assuming the Big Four will get you the best return on your savings.”

Many Aussie households are feeling financially squeezed in 2025 and news about impending economic armageddon doesn't help!

While inflation has eased slightly and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) delivered its first rate cut in four years, the economic outlook remains shaky due to a lot of global trade talk and subsequent share market crashes.

Is a potential recession brewing? Possibly.

What exactly does this mean? Well, firstly, keep calm and carry on. There are ways to get ahead.

The RBA notes that a recession typically involves weak economic output and rising unemployment.

Key characteristics include sustained weak or negative growth in real GDP, declines in household spending and business investment, higher rates of loan defaults and business closure, and a significant increase in the unemployment rate.

We can see some of this already happening locally. Yet there are ways to devise a personal plan to protect your money, such as saving more, cutting debts and diversifying your investments.

Our senior writer Peter Terlato breaks it down further in this feature article about how to prepare for a recession, which I recommend. 

In the meantime, if you're looking for a better place to park your money, check out our Savings Account hub page. 

New Mozo research reveals five savings mistakes costing Aussies, including not knowing their interest rate and being overly loyal to the big banks.

Many are even stashing money in accounts that pay no interest at all.

Australians could be losing out on hundreds of dollars in interest every year by making a few simple but costly errors, says Mozo’s money expert, Rachel Wastell.

"Savers may assume their savings are safe or earning high interest, but our research reveals a lack of awareness that means many could be unknowingly sabotaging their own returns," she says.

Mozo analysis of the highest and lowest ongoing savings rates could cost savers with a $25,000 balance over $800 a year in missed interest.

"Banks don’t reward loyalty - they bank on complacency, so if you’ve parked your savings in your bank account and forgotten about it, or have a low savings rate, chances are you’re losing out on potential interest."

In the end, small changes can reap big rewards, so here are Wastell's tips below.

5 areas to focus on to improve your savings:

1. Keeping savings in a bank account - many savers are stashing cash in bank accounts, rather than in savings accounts. According to the Mozo database 67% of these bank accounts offer no interest at all, and only 9% offer more than 0.10% p.a.
2. Know your interest rate - nearly half of Australians don’t know their savings rate, leaving them unable to determine how much they’re earning in interest or if they could earn more.
3. Check bonus rate conditions - 20% of Australians don’t know if their savings interest rate has bonus conditions attached, but savers with a $25,000 balance who don’t meet conditions could be missing out on over $1,000 in annual interest.
4. Big Four banks aren’t always the best - savers who ditch their Big Four loyalty could earn an extra $177 in annual interest on a $25,000 balance, or pocket an extra $71 a year on a balance of $10,000.
5. Compare Mozo winners - savers with a $25,000 balance could pocket $839 more in annual interest by switching to a Mozo award-winning savings account.

This research was conducted as part of the Mozo Experts Choice Awards 2025, following an extensive analysis of over 264 savings accounts from 84 financial institutions. 

If you're keen to switch savers, be sure to start comparing on our Savings Accounts hub page.

Good morning! Welcome back to Mozo's live news blog. 

With the global economy in a state of flux, you might be wondering about the property market. After all, they do say nothing's as safe as houses. 

I'm not certain that always holds true but when there's an easing in the market, as there seems to be at the moment, there can be a nice window for first home buyers.

Consider that Sydney’s auction clearance rate was 66% in March, while Melbourne was 65%, Domain figures show.

This represents what Domain is calling a modest easing in each city from February, which hit 68% and 65% respectively.

This seems like good news for younger home buyers who in recent years have been fairly squeezed by a tight market place, with very few affordable options, too many buyers for every sale and, as such, relatively high prices.

There are still homes going up for sale but interestingly, it might be that right now they’re not selling as quickly.

Consider that in the week to April 6, Sydney had 943 auctions while Melbourne had 1,192, as per early Corelogic data. These are pretty solid numbers given that there’s been a bit of uncertainty around the place.

I recall in the heyday of big property sales around 2016, total auctions in both cities could get up to around 1,200 before Easter - so these volumes are good by comparison, given current economic conditions.

Further still, many of the advertised sales are not going as planned. For example, in Sydney last week, 252 of those homes sold prior to auction. This usually happens when the seller is satisfied by an early offer - and sometimes that offer is lower than expected. 

Meanwhile, 136 planned auctions were withdrawn - the sale didn’t go ahead. 

An additional 71 properties were passed in, which means the top bid didn’t meet the vendor’s expectations.

In these scenarios the highest bidder has a chance to carry out private negotiations with the vendor’s real estate agent but this doesn’t guarantee a purchase. 

It is typically another sign that sellers are not on the same page as buyers and this can result in a shift in prices in a particular suburb or market, quite possibly in favour of buyers. 

This coupled with lower home loan rates could provide a good point of entry for a lot of people who have been waiting on the sidelines for a while. 

Be sure to compare some of the leading home loan rates in the Mozo database on our Home Loans hub page.