mortages

Next time someone tells you that Australia is a country with an affordability crisis and households suffering from mortgage stress, refer them to the official figures on mortgage delinquencies, which means people behind on their repayments.

Mortgage delinquencies are currently 0.9%, according to Fitch Ratings. In other words, less than 1% of households with mortgages are behind on their repayments. Those who are 90 days behind are only 0.4% of the total.

apartment living

Apartment living in Melbourne
off-the-plan apartments in central Melbourne have lost about 11% in value

That could mean buyers needing to find additional equity as high as $68,000. That’s not true for all apartments, but the trend is big enough to give the banks a worry.

There are multiple problems with the apartment market. There’s already too many. Vacancies are high and rental growth poor. Prices have flatlined at best over the last few years.

But here’s the biggest problem of all: most people don’t want to live in one
Latest market update

Highlights over the three months to March 2016: Best performing capital city: Hobart +6.5% Weakest performing capital city: Perth -0.9% Highest gross rental yields: Darwin & Hobart houses at 5.1%, Darwin units at 5.4% Lowest gross rental yields: Melbourne houses at 2.9% and Melbourne units at 4.1% Most expensive city: Sydney, with a median dwelling price of $730,000 Most affordable city: Hobart, with a median dwelling price of $341,500