Thousands of Queensland families plunged into severe mortgage stress sparking default warnings

Thousands of Queensland families have been plunged into severe mortgage stress, sparking warnings of an impending wave of loan defaults and forced sales. More than 9,500 households sank into negative cash flow in just three months — the second-highest net jump in the country behind Western Australia, according to alarming new data from market analyst Digital Finance Analytics (DFA). The surge brings Queensland’s total number of stressed households across its top-ranked postcodes to 74,649, placing the Sunshine State third nationally behind Victoria and New South Wales for total volume of distressed borrowers. One of two Woodridge homes listed as distressed sales – ‘the owner is distressed and requires a liquidation sale’. The outer suburbs of Brisbane’s mortgage belt bore the brunt of the squeeze, with postcode 4300, covering Bellbird Park and the outer Ipswich corridor, recording the state’s largest quarterly rise, up 49.6 per cent from 5,370 to 8,034. Other major stress hotspots included Toowoomba with a state-high 13,178 stressed homes (up 28.8 per cent), Mount Pleasant in Mackay (8,139), and middle-ring Brisbane suburbs such as Camp Hill (8,197) and Geebung (7,655). DFA princip...