Philip Lowe is used to being the bad news guy for home buyers as sky-rocketing monthly mortgage payments cripple so many household budgets. The Reserve Bank predicts up to 15 per cent of home borrowers on variable rates will have “negative spare cash” by the end of the year. That’s central banker speak for very tough times.

But the governor’s message on rents this week is just as tough. The bank expects these to increase by up to 10 per cent over the year. And with the governor pointing out that rents are the single largest contributor to the consumer price index, it hardly creates the ideal version of a circular economy.