No reason to cut rates: economist

A prominent economist sees litte reason for the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates if all it does is inflate the already-high level of house prices.

Ahead of a central bank decision on Tuesday, Saul Eslake told the Outlook conference in Canberra that although Australian house prices were undoubtedly high, there was no immediate danger of a housing bust like that suffered elsewhere in the world.

"It's obviously a risk that people are going to continue to worry about ... it reinforces my view that there is not much good to be done by having further cuts in interest rates if all that does is inflate the existing level of house prices," he said.