Australians finding it easier to make home loan payments

Australians are more likely to be finding it easier to make home loan repayments now than two years ago, according to the latest Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA)/Bankwest Home Finance Index, conducted in March this year.

Those likely to be finding it easier to make their home loan repayments jumped from 67.4 per cent in April 2008 up to 80.2 per cent this year.

Fewer people were making late repayments and even fewer were behind on repayments, and those feeling some difficulty making repayments were down from 25.7 per cent to 16 per cent.

“The latest Bankwest/MFAA Index showed many people were expecting the cash rate to keep climbing,” said MFAA chief executive Phil Naylor.

Almost half (47.1 per cent) predicted rates would rise by more than 0.5 per cent by March 2011, Naylor added.

“Although interest rates are rising, next-time buyers are returning to the property market because of confidence in the economy and the jobs market. Many buyers are also aware of impending interest rate rises, and are factoring these into their decision-making process,” he said.

Only 15.4 per cent of respondents agreed it felt like Australia was in a recession, down from a peak of 44.5 per cent in May last year, while perception of the financial situation of their household has remained relatively steady since May 2009, the survey found.