Nearly 20 percent of first-time home buyers in Australia could lose their homes in the coming months, according to an Australian Mortgage Stress Analysis Survey.
The study, which surveyed 26,000 households, found that the number of young home buyers in severe mortgage stress is set to surge, with many families at risk of being forced by lenders to sell their properties.
Households in Tasmania are most at risk with 17.2 percent of borrowers either late on their loan payments, forced to refinance, or pressured by lenders to sell. This is followed by the Northern Territory (17 percent), South Australia and New South Wales (both 16.4 percent), Queensland and Victoria (both 16 percent), ACT (15.2 percent), and Western Australia at 14.4 percent.
Digital Finance Analytics (DFA), the research agency that conducted the report, said the crisis is attributed to budget mismanagement and rising household costs.
“They don’t know what their incomes are or their outgoings are and they don’t have the money to maintain their lifestyles,” said Martin North, Director at the DFA, adding that 50 percent of households surveyed had no proper budget to cope with expenses.
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