Rate hike will cripple borrowers

13 Apr 2011 - Jessica Darnbrough from Rebonline.com.au

More than 10 per cent of Australians would not be able to meet their mortgage repayments if interest rates were to rise by just 25 basis points, new research has found.

According to QBE LMI’s latest lmiBAROMETER report, almost 25 per cent of mortgage holders said they would not make their repayments if rates lifted by 50 basis points before the end of the year.

But despite the negative consumer sentiment, just 2.3 per cent of Australians are unable to meet their repayments on their current income.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, QBE LMI chief executive Ian Graham said not all states were affected in the same way by mortgage stress. Some states handle stress better than others.

“The leading states for mortgage stress are South Australia and Western Australia, with both groups having around 30 per cent of respondents claiming to be under stress,” he said.

“Queensland follows with 28 per cent of respondents, ahead of New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory with 25 per cent of respondents. Interestingly, respondents from Victoria/Tasmania report a level of mortgage stress well below the rest of the nation at only 15 per cent.”