Money.com.au commissioned a survey of an independent panel of 1018 Australian mortgage holders to gauge how financially prepared Australians are for a new environment of higher interest rates and the rising cost of living.
Respondents were asked to specify how much money they have in their mortgage offset account, home loan redraw facility or savings account, to determine whether they have a substantial financial buffer to navigate increasing costs.
Money.com.au also asked respondents what interest rate rise they could cope with to continue servicing their loan.
The pool of survey respondents matches the geographical spread of the Australian population.
Most respondents (80 per cent) revealed they have a buffer in their home loans to meet upcoming interest rate rises.
Specifically:
The survey also revealed that the older the borrower, the more likely they are to have no buffer:
Compared with:
When comparing the States, Money.com.au found that Victorians were more likely to have the largest savings buffer against their home loan.
Compared with:
In addition more Victorians are also holding more than $50,000 in an offset, redraw or savings account.
Compared with:
Response | Age: 18-29 | Age: 30-34 | Age: 35-39 | Age: 40-44 | Age: 45-49 | Age: 50-54 | Age: 55+ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nil | 12% | 3% | 27% | 21% | 25% | 40% | 22% |
Less than $5000 | 14% | 21% | 14% | 14% | 17% | 15% | 21% |
$5000-$10,000 | 17% | 4% | 10% | 14% | 6% | 7% | 11% |
$10,000-$20,000 | 14% | 13% | 8% | 9% | 12% | 10% | 11% |
$20,000-$50,000 | 19% | 17% | 12% | 15% | 13% | 5% | 11% |
$50,000-$80,000 | 10% | 16% | 12% | 8% | 6% | 3% | 10% |
$80,000-$100,000 | 5% | 8% | 4% | 5% | 3% | 4% | 2% |
$100,000-$200,000 | 4% | 11% | 9% | 6% | 11% | 5% | 5% |
More than $200,000 | 5% | 7% | 5% | 7% | 6% | 11% | 8% |
Response | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WAS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nil | 20% | 15% | 24% | 32% | 19% |
Less than $5000 | 13% | 15% | 22% | 22% | 17% |
$5000-$10,000 | 11% | 11% | 11% | 10% | 11% |
$10,000-$20,000 | 13% | 10% | 11% | 9% | 12% |
$20,000-$50,000 | 15% | 14% | 12% | 8% | 16% |
$50,000-$80,000 | 10% | 12% | 5% | 10% | 10% |
$80,000-$100,000 | 4% | 6% | 5% | 2% | 2% |
$100,000-$200,000 | 7% | 11% | 4% | 2% | 3% |
More than $200,000 | 7% | 8% | 5% | 3% | 10% |
The majority of respondents (84 per cent) revealed they would still be able to make home loan repayments with an interest rate rise.
Specifically:
The results also revealed that the older the borrower age group, the more likely they are to find repayments easier in a climate of rising rates:
Compared with:
Younger Australians revealed they could cope with a 0.5 per cent rate rise, at 30 per cent (chosen by respondents aged 18-24),
Compared with:
More older Australians could cope with a rate rise of 1 per cent or more, at 50 per cent (chosen by respondents aged over-50).
In contrast with the following age groups who said the same:
A larger proportion of Queensland borrowers said they can meet repayments with a high rate rise:
Compared with:
Response | All | Age: 18-29 | Age: 30-34 | Age: 35-39 | Age: 40-44 | Age 45-49 | Age: 50-54 | Age: 55+ |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I won’t be able to make loan repayments with any kind of interest rate rise | 16% | 14% | 11% | 22% | 20% | 15% | 29% | 14% |
I could still make loan repayments with a 0.25% rate rise | 22% | 29% | 22% | 22% | 19% | 24% | 20% | 18% |
I could still make loan repayments with a 0.5% rate rise | 14% | 24% | 15% | 13% | 18% | 10% | 11% | 10% |
I could still make loan repayments with a 0.75% rate rise | 6% | 8% | 9% | 6% | 9% | 2% | 4% | 3% |
I could still make loan repayments with a 1% rate rise | 9% | 9% | 12% | 6% | 8% | 11% | 6% | 9% |
I could still make loan repayments with a 2% rate rise | 8% | 6% | 8% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 3% | 9% |
I could still make loan repayments with more than a 2% rate rise | 26% | 9% | 23% | 23% | 18% | 31% | 27% | 37% |
Response | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WAS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
I won’t be able to make loan repayments with any kind of interest rate rise | 14% | 15% | 18% | 17% | 18% |
I could still make loan repayments with a 0.25% rate rise | 24% | 19% | 20% | 26% | 20% |
I could still make loan repayments with a 0.5% rate rise | 17% | 13% | 11% | 14% | 11% |
I could still make loan repayments with a 0.75% rate rise | 5% | 6% | 5% | 6% | 8% |
I could still make loan repayments with a 1% rate rise | 9% | 12% | 9% | 8% | 9% |
I could still make loan repayments with a 2% rate rise | 10% | 6% | 7% | 10% | 5% |
I could still make loan repayments with more than a 2% rate rise | 21% | 29% | 30% | 18% | 29% |