Two years ahead on repayments, but household debt at record levels: RBA
The Reserve Bank of Australia has published data showing Australia’s household debt to disposable income ratio has risen to the highest since March 2008.
The amount of mortgage debt Australians have relative to their incomes sits higher than the debt-to-income ratio realised just prior to the onset of the global financial crisis.
Households and investors are utilising home loan rates as low as 4.6%.
The data comes against the backdrop where commentary has been suggesting the recent credit growth had been slow.
The Reserve Bank estimates that the housing debt across the country is 37% greater than total household incomes, up from 33% a year ago.
Even though households have taken on more risk, the RBA says households continue to pay down their mortgages more quickly than required.
“The aggregate mortgage buffer – balances in mortgage offset and redraw facilities – has risen to be around 15% of outstanding balances, which is equivalent to more than two years of scheduled repayments at current interest rates."
