Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) slightly underperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) today.
The CBA share price finished the day flat at $103.41, compared to a gain of 0.36% on the ASX 200.
Tuesday was the only day the CBA share price retraced, closing down 0.2%. Over the past 5 days, CommBank shares are up 2.8%.
Here's what investors were keeping an eye on this week.
How the banks are making the most of low interest rates
The current record low interest rates have thrown up some difficulties for banks, who find their lending margins squeezed by the lack of wiggle room before hitting 0%.
However, it's precisely these rock bottom rates that are driving surging Aussie housing prices. Which, in turn, is helping support the CBA share price.
According to data from CoreLogic, Aussie house prices leapt 1.6% higher in July. That brought the year-to-date price gains to 14.1% and the 12-month increase to 16.1%.
CoreLogic's research director, Tim Lawless pointed to record low mortgage rates as fuelling the price surge.
That same surge has seen a big lift in Aussie banks' mortgage balances. Reserve Bank (RBA) data indicates the month-on-month growth in June of 0.7% is the fastest growth rate since 2010.
Over the past 12 months, CommBank's own mortgage book grew by 6.7%.
CBA share price in the spotlight ahead of FY21 results
Next Wednesday, 11 August CommBank is set to deliver its 2021 financial year results.
With that in mind, this past Wednesday the Motley Fool looked at what the market can expect from the CBA share price following the results.
According to a note out of Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), those results should be strong. CommBank is expected to finish FY21 with significant surplus capital. However, Goldman's forecast falls a bit below the current market consensus.
The broker also retained its current sell rating with a price target of $81.87 per share. That's well below the current CBA share price of $103.38.
