Mortgage holders are feeling more confident about their finances, while those without debt are growing more pessimistic, according to a consumer survey.
Consumers with mortgages are feeling less concerned about their financial health, while those without debt feel like their financial situations have worsened, according to the latest data from Agile Market Intelligence’s Consumer Pulse survey.
The survey – which tracks consumer sentiment regarding financial security/anxiety, their perceived financial health relative to a year ago, and their reported household cash flow – has revealed that home loan borrowers are feeling more optimistic than those with no debt or other consumer debt (such as personal loans and credit cards).
Based on 635 responses in January 2026, the Consumer Pulse survey found that the share of mortgage holders concerned about their financial situation has decreased, falling to less than a quarter (24 per cent).
This continues the downward trend recorded since November 2025, despite there being no movement in the official cash rate and increasing reports that this easing cycle may have ended.
In fact, almost three in four mortgage holders believe that their financial health has improved or remained the same since last year. This cohort is the most optimistic about their financial outlook of any other group. There were 1.6 per cent more mortgagors reporting that their finances have improved or remained steady in January 2026 than in December.
According to Consumer Pulse, mortgage holders also have the most positive cash flow at +21.9, an increase of 2.6 points.
Consumer debt borrowers the most financially stressed
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the segment feeling the most anxiety at the start of the year is those with other forms of debt (‘consumer debt’).
Nearly two in five borrowers with consumer debt believe that their financial health has worsened in the past year.
Indeed, those with consumer debt are the only consumer cohort to have reported negative cash flow and continue to be the most anxious group across the various debt statuses, despite the proportion of concerned consumer debt holders falling 2 percentage points.
The survey also found that more consumers without any debt believe their financial situation had worsened when compared to January 2025, with 5.1 per cent more debt-free Australians being concerned about their financial situation. Financial anxiety was also growing in this group, rising by 4.4 per cent on January 2025 levels.
In total, around 31 per cent of consumers without any debt said they were anxious about their financial situation in January 2026, and just under a third felt that their financial health had worsened compared to 12 months ago.
The growing optimism and sentiment among mortgage holders come after Roy Morgan research revealed falling levels of mortgage stress among Australian home owners.
As reported by Broker Daily, the risk of mortgage stress among Australian home owners has fallen to its lowest level since January 2023, with 24.7 per cent of mortgage holders – around 1.25 million households – now considered “at risk”, following three RBA rate cuts in 2025 that reduced the cash rate to 3.6 per cent.
While the number of those “extremely at risk” sits just above the long-term average at 16.8 per cent, analysts have warned the improvement may be temporary, as inflation has risen and banks are not expected to cut rates soon.
Indeed, Roy Morgan’s modelling suggests a modest 0.25 percentage point rate hike in February 2026 could push the at-risk population up by 41,000 households.
CEO Michele Levine noted that, although interest rates play a role, household income and employment remain the dominant factors influencing mortgage stress.
[Related: Spending surge adds fuel to February rate hike calls]
