New research from Roy Morgan has assessed the number of Australian mortgage holders who are in “mortgage stress”, using a formula that takes into account household income, costs, and mortgage repayments. The research shows that 20.8% (949,000) of mortgage holders were “At Risk” in the three months to August 2018, although this is down from 21.3% (974,000) in the three months to August 2017. Over the same period, the proportion of mortgage holders that are “Extremely at Risk” has decreased from 14.9% (658,000) to 13.5% (596,000):
The reasons given for the slight decline in mortgage stress over the past year is strange given we know that actual mortgage rates have been rising due to out-of-cycle rate rises by the banks, as well as via regulatory actions hitting investors:
