RBA’s data shows mortgage pain for thousands of West Australians
As this article is behind the paywall, I will do a quick summary of it here.
Recent data from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) reveals significant mortgage stress among Western Australian (WA) homeowners. Here's a breakdown of the key points:
- High Mortgage Burden: The RBA classifies 9.8% of WA borrowers as having a high mortgage burden, indicating that a substantial portion of homeowners are allocating a significant share of their income to mortgage repayments.
- Mortgage Arrears: Nearly 2,000 West Australians are over three months behind on their mortgage repayments, highlighting severe financial distress among these borrowers.
- Increase in Mortgage Arrears: The number of WA borrowers who are more than 90 days behind on their mortgage repayments rose from 0.43% in 2023 to 0.51% by the end of 2024. WA now has the third highest rate of 90-day mortgage arrears in Australia, behind only NSW (0.55%) and Victoria (0.66%).
- Impact of Interest Rate Hikes: The RBA's series of 13 interest rate increases have significantly affected WA family budgets.
These findings underscore the growing financial challenges faced by many homeowners in Western Australia amid rising interest rates and living costs.