Mortgage stress down in May and set to fall further in the months ahead after the Stage 3 tax cuts begin

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Jun-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,514,000 mortgage holders (29.7%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to May 2024. This represents a decrease of 46,000 (-1.1%) on a month earlier and is now the lowest level of mortgage stress reached so far this year. The RBA left interest rates on hold during their June board meeting and there is no RBA board meeting to decide upon interest rates during the month of July. The level of mortgage holders who are ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in May is the lowest rate since July 2023 (29.2%), and the first time this year the rate has dropped below 30% of mortgage holders. The lower level of mortgage stress in recent months has been driven by rising household incomes, which has reduced the financial pressure on some mortgage holders. However, the number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 707,000 since May 2022 when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 976,000 (19.9% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.4%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Mortgage stress increased to 30.8% of mortgage holders in April but remains below highs reached earlier in 2024

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-May-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,560,000 mortgage holders (30.8%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to April 2024. This represents an increase of 29,000 (+0.5%) on a month earlier, but remains below the highs reached earlier in 2024. There was no RBA board meeting on interest rates during the month of April. The proportion of mortgage holders now ‘At Risk’ is well below the record high of 35.6% reached during the Global Financial Crisis because of the larger size of the Australian mortgage market today. However, the number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 753,000 since May 2022 when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 994,000 (20.2% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.4%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Cost pressures top business concerns

Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 15 : 30-Apr-24

A KPMG Enterprise pre-budget survey of mid-market businesses has found that cost and margin pressures are their biggest concern, with mid-market businesses deemed as those with turnover of between $10 million and $500 million. Clive Baird from KPMG Enterprise said that the biggest help for mid-market businesses in terms of growing their operations and generating demand would be for interest rates to be lowered, while 80 per cent of those surveyed expect to see economic growth of at least 2-3 per cent this year.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Mortgage stress declined in March as household incomes increased and the RBA left interest rates unchanged

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Apr-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,531,000 mortgage holders (30.3%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to March 2024. This was a fall of 98,000 (-1.1%) on a month earlier, after the RBA elected to leave interest rates unchanged for the third straight meeting. The level of mortgage stress in March is the lowest so far this year; this month’s decline has been driven by rising household incomes, which has reduced the financial pressure on some mortgage holders. The proportion of mortgage holders now ‘At Risk’ is well below the record high of 35.6% reached during the Global Financial Crisis because of the larger size of the Australian mortgage market today. However, the number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 724,000 since May 2022 when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress, is now numbered at 918,000 (18.7% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.4%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

CSIRO survey finds most Australians want moderately paced energy transition and are unwilling to pay more

Original article by Daniel Mercer
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 10-Apr-24

Australians are generally supportive of the nation’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, according to a survey undertaken by the CSIRO. Nearly 50 per cent of the 6,700 respondents favour a ‘moderately paced’ transition to clean energy, while 40 per cent believe that the transition should be faster and more extensive. The survey also found that nearly 60 per cent of respondents are not prepared to risk more power blackouts as part of the clean energy transition, while 64 per cent of said they ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ with paying more for electricity. The survey was carried out in August and September 2023.

CORPORATES
CSIRO

Mortgage stress continued to increase in February to a new record high of 1.63 million; despite no RBA rate rise

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Mar-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that a record 1,629,000 mortgage holders (31.4%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to February 2024. This was an increase of 20,000 (+0.4%) on the record high number in January 2024 (1,609,000), despite the Reserve Bank board electing to leave interest rates unchanged at 4.35% at its February meeting. However, the proportion of mortgage holders ‘At Risk’ is still well below the record high of 35.6% reached during the Global Financial Crisis because of the larger size of the mortgage market today. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 822,000 since May 2022, when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 987,000 (19.7% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.3%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Mortgage stress increased in January following RBA’s November rate rise to record high above 1.6 million

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Feb-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,609,000 mortgage holders (31.0%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to January 2024. This period included an interest rate increase on Melbourne Cup Day, with the RBA raising interest rates to 4.35%. The figure for January represented a new record high total for mortgage holders considered ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress, beating the previous record highs above 1.56 million in August and September 2023. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 802,000 since May 2022, when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 994,000 (19.8% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.3%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Mortgage stress increased in December following RBA’s November rate rise but still below mid-year highs

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 31-Jan-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,527,000 mortgage holders (30.3%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to December 2023. This period included an interest rate increase on Melbourne Cup Day, with the RBA raising interest rates to 4.35%. The figure for December represented the highest level of mortgage stress for three months as the impact of the interest rate increase flowed through, but still below the record highs above 1.56 million mortgage holders ‘At Risk’ in both August and September 2023. This is only the fourth time the index has shown over 1.5 million mortgage holders to be considered ‘At Risk’. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 720,000 since May 2022, when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 964,000 (19.8% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.2%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Mortgage stress continued to ease in November despite the RBA raising interest rates on Melbourne Cup Day

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-Jan-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,490,000 mortgage holders (29.9%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to November 2023. This period included only one interest rate increase on Melbourne Cup Day, with the RBA raising interest rates to 4.35%. The figure for November represented a second straight monthly decrease as mortgage stress continued to ease due to a combination of factors – including increased household incomes, increased employment and reduced amounts borrowed and outstanding. This is the first time since January 2022 (before the RBA began raising interest rates) that mortgage stress has decreased for two straight months. However, despite the easing in mortgage stress this was only the sixth time in the history of the index that over 1.45 million mortgage holders were considered ‘At Risk’. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 683,000 since May 2022 when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 934,000 (19.3% of mortgage holders) which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.2%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Mortgage stress eased in October before the RBA raised interest rates on Melbourne Cup Day

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Nov-23

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,514,000 mortgage holders (30.1%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to October 2023. This period included three RBA meetings at which interest rates were left unchanged and was before the increase on Melbourne Cup Day. The figure for October represented a slight decrease on a month earlier as mortgage stress eased due to a combination of factors, such as increased household incomes, increased employment and reduced amounts borrowed and outstanding. Despite the slight easing in mortgage stress, this was only the third time in the history of the index that over 1.5 million mortgage holders were considered ‘At Risk’. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 707,000 since May 2022, when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 967,000 (19.7%), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.1%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED