Tara Murray
A Hume postcode is experiencing the fourth-highest rate of mortgage stress in Australia, according to a new report.
Research and consulting firm Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) has released its mortgage stress report for August, which ranked the 3064 postcode (Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park, Mickleham, Kalkallo, Donnybrook) as experiencing the fourth-highest rate of mortgage stress in the nation.
The report said that 5957 households within the 3064 area were experiencing mortgage stress.
Sunbury also made the list, with 4957 households experiencing mortgage stress.
Two Whittlesea postcodes made the list of the top 28 postcodes nationwide. The 3754 postcode, which includes Doreen and Mernda, has 4928 households experiencing mortgage stress. In nearby Epping, 4734 households are experiencing mortgage stress.
The Ballarat postcode placed first on the list, with 7462 households experiencing mortgage stress.
DFA put together its report after surveying 52,000 households across the nation over a year, and using mortgage industry reports, company information and banking and economic analysis to calculate the figures.
The report considers households to be in severe mortgage stress if their gross income – such as salary, pensions, interest and dividends – is 10 per cent or more below what they spend on tax, mortgage repayments, other housing costs, food, childcare, and school fees every month.
“The postcodes with the largest counts of stressed households coincide with areas of high recent development, where households have large mortgages, and [Victoria] is over-represented thanks to the lockdowns,” the report said.
According to the report, about 1.52 million households across the nation were experiencing mortgage stress in August – equating to 40.1 per cent of all households in Australia.
In contrast, about 1.4 million households across the nation were experiencing mortgage stress in May – equating to 37.5 per cent of all households in Australia.
The report also said that rental stress “remains a significant issue” with 41.1 per cent of Australian renters in difficulty, equating to 1.78 million households.
The 2540 postcode in New South Wales, which includes Jervis Bay, placed first on the list for rental stress, with 9650 households experiencing the issue.
