Reserve Bank move set to (slowly) lift interest rates

Winding back a pandemic-forced monetary policy will gradually begin to affect mortgage payments, writes Isaac Gross.

Mortgage debt and rent hitting retirees and federal budget

The number of older Australians still paying off mortgages or renting well into their sixties is soaring. Besides the impact on lives and household finances, the trend has serious implications for federal budgets and housing policy, argues Rachel Ong ViforJ, Gavin Wood, Melek Cigdem-Bayram and Silvia Salazar.

The RBA says mortages in arrears are at their highest since 2010, but below levels seen in the early 1990s recession. Photo: supplied

Number of mortgages behind on payments highest since 2010: RBA

The Reserve Bank believes the number of home owners behind on their mortgages could keep climbing for some time, although not to levels that might threaten Australia’s financial stability.