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Over 30 per cent of Australians experienced mortgage stress in the last 12 months, a study by HomeLoanFinder.com.au has revealed.
According to the study, of the 35 per cent of Australians experiencing mortgage stress, 15.6 per cent say there have been months when they didn’t know if they would be able to make the repayments.
Just over 10 per cent recently took a pay cut and consequently find themselves constantly stressed about money, while 9.1 per cent find it hard to juggle a social life and pay the mortgage.
Rising utility bills tops the list of borrower concerns, along with job security, interest rates and maintaining a budget.
As many as 20.91 per cent of Australians are willing to sacrifice their own privacy to maintain their mortgage repayments by renting out a room in their own home.
Despite the mortgage stress, 76.27 per cent of Australians believe now is a good time to buy a property.
Australians aren’t as keen on refinancing, with 66.55 per cent arguing that it “isn’t easy” to switch home loans.
More importantly, it seems the majority of those surveyed don’t wish to switch anyway, with 61.96 per cent of borrowers saying they are happy with their current lender.
In terms of saving for a home, Aussies seem to be split between those rushing into property and those waiting on the fringes while doing some hard saving.
A huge 35.2 per cent of first homebuyers saved for a year or less before buying their first property, while 45.4 per cent saved for three years or more — signalling a gulf between ‘rapid buyers’ and ‘slow and steady buyers’.
Jeremy Cabral is the personal finance publisher of Finder.com.au, which includes HomeLoanFinder.com.au a comparison website to help Aussies make an informed decisions about their finances.
