Mortgage holders will be breathing a sigh of relief at the reprieve, with rates now on pause at least until the board convene once again in February.
RBA boss Michele Bullock said a pause was the right move to allow the board to assess the incoming data, including the Q4 CPI inflation figures, before the February decision.
"Whether further tightening of monetary policy is required to ensure that inflation returns to target in a reasonable timeframe will depend upon the data and the evolving assessment of risks," Ms Bullock said.
"The Board will continue to pay close attention to developments in the global economy, trends in domestic demand, and the outlook for inflation and the labour market."
This will sound familiar to anyone familiar with the monetary policy statements over the past few months: these words are essentially unchanged from the forward guidance over the past few decisions.
A hike in February could still be on the table, with NAB economist Tapas Strickland expecting the December quarter inflation data to be enough to convince the RBA rates need to go up again by 25 basis points, which would take the cash rate to 4.60%.
"[We] still see [the RBA] hiking again in February given domestic price pressures which should again be evident in the Q4 CPI data on 31 January 2024," Mr Strickland said last week.
Good news for property prices?
The CoreLogic home value index showed the median Australian property price hit $753,654 in November, 8.3% growth from the trough of January and a new record high.
This was a 0.6% increase from October, the smallest monthly growth since prices started appreciating, and CoreLogic research Director Tim Lawless said the Melbourne Cup day rate hike had taken some of the heat out of the market, suggesting growth would continue to slow.
"Rising advertised stock levels, worsening affordability and persistently low consumer sentiment are also acting as a drag on value growth in some markets," he said.
Another rate hike could have been a further drag on demand, and PropTrack Senior Economist Eleanor Creagh said the hold will likely boost confidence among both buyers and sellers ahead of 2024.
Ms Creagh said with population growth expected to remain strong, she anticipates growth to continue despite the weak outlook for the economy.
"With a shortage of new home builds and challenging conditions in the rental market, prices are expected to continue rising, though the pace of growth will continue to slow."
