Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Nov-21

New research from Roy Morgan shows that an estimated 584,000 mortgage holders (15.8%) were ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress in the three months to September 2021. This period encompassed the recent lockdowns in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, which finally ended during the month of October. Mortgage stress dropped to record lows during this period with fewer than 600,000 mortgage holders considered ‘At Risk’ for the first time. The level of mortgage stress is down on a year ago during Victoria’s long second lockdown when an estimated 668,000 mortgage holders (18.3%) were considered ‘At Risk’. The low rate of ‘At Risk’ mortgages during this period continues the trends seen during the pandemic in which record low interest rates, record levels of Government financial support, and considerable measures taken by banks and financial institutions to support borrowers in financial distress have combined to lower mortgage stress to record lows. Mortgage stress today is at less than half the level it was during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, when it reached a high of 35.6% of mortgage-holders. Meanwhile, 18.7% of Australians with negative employment changes due to COVID-19 are now in mortgage stress – almost 3% points higher than for all mortgage holders. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 50,000 Australians each year including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

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