Australians are one of the world’s most indebted people but are still comfortable with it.
According to a recent global survey by Genworth, 39 percent of Australians polled were using more than half of their income to service debt.
However, over one-third of the respondents noted they were comfortable borrowing more than 80 percent of their property value when acquiring a house – the highest rate in any country polled.
“Whether for financial or cultural reasons, Australians are the most relaxed about being highly leveraged,” said Ellie Comerford, Chief Executive Officer of Genworth Australia.
The Genworth survey revealed that most Australian home owners are at ease paying their home loans, and showed that four out of five respondents had no trouble meeting their payments in the past year.
In addition, 45 percent were ahead in their repayments, higher than the average of 26 percent in other polled markets.
Meanwhile, Italians and Canadians were next in the comfort rating for high debt.
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