Finder’s RBA Survey: 44% of experts say the cost-of-living crisis has ended, property class divide widens

The nation's experts are divided on whether the cost-of-living crisis has finally ended, according to a new poll from Finder.

In this month’s Finder RBA Cash Rate Survey™, 34 experts and economists weighed in on future cash rate moves and other issues relating to the state of the economy. Almost all (88%, 30/34) believe the RBA will cut the cash rate tomorrow, bringing it to 3.60%.

On the topic of cost-of-living, almost half of experts (44%, 11/25) who weighed in* say the crisis is over.

The amount Aussies are saving each month ($932) reached an all-time high in June 2025, up from $614 in June 2023, according to data from Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker (CST).

Finder’s data shows mortgage stress is also at a two-year low (34%).

Despite higher average savings rates, Stella Huangfu from the University of Sydney noted that many were still doing it tough.

“Finder's research reveals that 43% of respondents have less than $1,000 in savings, and 18% have no savings at all.

“Additionally, the cost of essential goods and services remains high.

“Experts predict that grocery prices are unlikely to decrease in 2025, and real household disposable income has declined by nearly 10% since its peak, indicating that many Australians are still struggling to keep up with living expenses,” Huangfu said.

Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder, said while some Australians were gaining financial confidence, others were barely scraping by.

“Whether the cost of living crisis is over really depends on who you ask.

“While Finder’s Cost of Living Pressure Gauge shows that cost pressures are easing, rents are still sky-high and relief is being more directly felt by homeowners.

“The property class divide in Australia is widening,” Cooke said.

Jakob Madsen from The University of Western Australia said the crisis is not as large as many believe.

“I think the so-called cost-of-living crisis is blown up and clearly not of the scale we saw in the 1970s and 1980s.

“Most remuneration is indexed to consumer prices, so the standard of living has not changed much.

“The exception is some rentiers and new entrants into the housing market have experienced marked increasing costs. But this is all caused by the escalation of house prices, not a general increase in the real value of pensions and wages,” Madsen said.

Kyle Rodda from Capital.com said the cost-of-living crisis is basically a housing crisis.

“If you rent, things are tough. If you are leveraged to your eyeballs on your home, things are tough.

“Given the housing problem is supply driven and there's not much being done to address that, then the "crisis" is likely to continue,” Rodda said.

Graham Cooke said that we are definitely on a new track.

“While we are not out of the woods yet, there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. A few more rate cuts will be required, but renters may still be left with higher costs,” Cooke said.

Adj Prof Noel Whittaker from QUT pointed to a growing wealth divide.

“We are living in very much a two-tier society, and the gaps between the haves and the have-nots appear to be widening,” Whittaker said.

According to Finder's Consumer Sentiment Tracker, Australians are now saving more each month on average than they were in May 2022 (when the cash rate started rising from 0.10%).

Likewise, the number of Aussies struggling to make mortgage repayments has hit a 24-month low.

Are we out of the cost-of-living crisis?

Yes	44%
No	56%
Source: Finder's RBA Cash Rate Survey, July 2025

*Experts are not required to answer every question in the survey

Here's what our experts had to say: Are we out of the cost-of-living crisis?

Nicholas Gruen, Lateral Economics (Yes): "We're over the worst of it. Prices are no longer clearly outpacing wages."

Shane Oliver, AMP (No): "Cost of living pressures are easing with wages growth now above that of inflation. But real wages probably won't get back to their 2020 level until the early 2030's."

Matthew Peter, QIC (No): "Although the rate of inflation has fallen, the price level is still rising. The cost-of-living crisis will pass when disposable income picks up and closes the gap between incomes and expenditures later this year."

Jakob Madsen, The University of Western Australia (Yes): "I think the so-called cost-of-living crisis is blown up and clearly not of the scale we saw in the 1970s and 1980s. Most remuneration is indexed to consumer prices, so the standard of living has not changed much. The exception is some rentiers and new entrants into the housing market have experienced marked increasing costs. But this is all caused by the escalation of house prices, not a general increase in the real value of pensions and wages."

Nalini Pr, UNSW Sydney (Yes): "Most households have a solid savings buffer to draw upon in the event of a negative shock."

Adj Prof Noel Whittaker, QUT (No): "We are living in very much a two-tier society, and the gaps between the haves and the have-nots appear to be widening."

Kyle Rodda, Capital.com (No): "The cost of living crisis is basically a housing crisis. If you rent, things are tough. If you are leveraged to your eyeballs on your home, things are tough. Given the housing problem is supply driven and there's not much being done to address that, then the "crisis" is likely to continue."

Garry Barrett, University of Sydney (No): "Tracking that way, though not yet there."

Stella Huangfu, University of Sydney (No): "Finder's research reveals that 43% of respondents have less than $1,000 in savings, and 18% have no savings at all. Additionally, the cost of essential goods and services remains high. Experts predict that grocery prices are unlikely to decrease in 2025, and real household disposable income has declined by nearly 10% since its peak, indicating that many Australians are still struggling to keep up with living expenses."

Mark Crosby, Monash University (No): "Mortgage stress is likely to remain an issue in the next 12 months, but new mortgageholders should not be the ones under stress since they haven't seen rates rise. A rate cut should support earlier holders of mortgages but col issues are not yet over."

Peter Munckton, Bank of Queensland (No): "It will take some quarters before wages growth catches up to the higher price level."

Michael Yardney, Metropole (Yes): "Australian consumers have now learned to live in this new normal economic environment and are getting on with their lives."

Tim Reardon, Housing Industry Association (No): "We're still in a per-capita recession and house prices and rents are still rising."

Saul Eslake, Corinna Economic Advisory Pty Ltd (Yes): "Inflation is back within the target band and expected to remain there, while wages are rising at a faster rate than prices. The increases in prices over the past three years are, for the most part, not going to be reversed - but households' finances are going to improve from here, not deteriorate."

Nicholas Frappell, ABC Refinery (No): "Property is still very expensive, and the outcomes of tariffs have probably not been felt yet in terms of global demand and knock-on effects on employment and the important commodity sector."

Matt Turner, GSC Finance Solutions (No): "Households are bunkering down, they are saving and not spending as we have all been burnt by inflation and the cost of living and housing. I think we have all learnt a valuable lesson from the last couple of years that we need to have rainy day money available just in case."

Stephen Miller, GSFM (Yes): "I think it is implied in the preamble to the question."

Stephen Koukoulas, Market Economics (Yes): "Real wages are increasing and are set to keep increasing in the next year or two."