Interest rate rise would see almost half of Australian mortgage holders under financial stress

Almost half of Australia’s mortgage holders would be in financial stress if the expected Melbourne Cup interest rate rise goes ahead, paying at least 30% of their income to service their loans.

Households diverting at least 30% of their disposable income to service a mortgage – a standard stress gauge – will account for 48.5% of total borrowers, according to the Australian National University’s Australian tax and welfare system model.

The proportion rose from 26.7% in pre-Covid 2019 to 43.8% at the end of last year, and easily topped the 38.5% share of households in 1993, to be at record levels.