A recent mortgage report has listed Queensland as the worst performing Australian state in terms of mortgage debts.
Global ratings agency Finch noted that one in 50 Queensland mortgage holders were unable to pay their mortgage on time.
The report showed that Logan City has the highest home loan delinquency rate, with 2.1 percent of mortgage holders in default beyond 30 days. It added that most of the mortgage stress had come from growth corridors around capital cities, rather than regional areas hit by disasters.
The percentage of delinquent mortgages in Queensland grew from 1.54 percent to two percent between November and March.
The growth corridors of Caboolture north of Brisbane, Ipswich to the west and the Gold Coast to the south were also the state’s worst performing areas, registering mortgage delinquency rates of 1.78 to 1.84 percent.
Nationwide, home loan affordability is rapidly declining with the report revealing that one in 80 mortgage holders are lagging by one or more repayments.
Scott Manning, the author of the report, noted that first-home buyers were struggling the most, as the dramatic dip in the Reserve Bank’s cash rate from seven to three percent between October 2008 and April 2009 “improved outcomes for borrowers when asking their mortgage providers how much they could borrow.”
“First-home owners used the falling cash rate to increase the average amount borrowed by 25 percent,” said Mr. Manning.
“But they were not alone in expanding their gearing.”
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