Mortgage squeeze deepens as home loan repayments claim two-thirds of income

Add as a preferred source on GoogleQueensland householders are spending two-thirds of their income on mortgage repayments Queensland households are spending 66 per cent of their income on home loans — a dramatic step-up from the last time interest rates were at this level. New analysis from broker giant Loan Market has revealed homebuyers are facing an unprecedented mortgage squeeze, as repayments on an average owner-occupier loan soar to $4,815 a month following yesterday’s rate rise to 4.6 per cent. It marks an extra $441 a month tacked onto average household repayments across four rate hikes this year alone, up from $4,374 prior to the increases. Loan Market CEO Sam White: Buyers forced to pause Loan Market compared repayments in 2011, the last time the official cash rate sat around 4.5 per cent. Fifteen years ago, an average Queensland house priced at $428,800 with an 80 per cent loan ($343,040) required $2,263 in monthly repayments at a 6.25 per cent interest rate. Against the national average full-time income of $69,336 ($5,778 a month), mortgage repayments equated to 39 per cent of earnings. Today, with Queensland’s average house price surging to $1,130,600, an 80 per cent l...