Borrow
1 in 2 Aussies begins mortgage repayments
Nearly half of all Australians who took a mortgage holiday are beginning to repay their debts, new research has revealed.
1 in 2 Aussies begins mortgage repayments
Nearly half of all Australians who took a mortgage holiday are beginning to repay their debts, new research has revealed.
Numbers released by the Australian Banking Association (ABA) showed that from seven of Australia’s largest banks, as of last week, the number of deferred mortgages had dropped to 270,000, meaning repayments had resumed on at least 224,000 loans.
In total, 45 per cent of deferred mortgages are back to making regular loan repayments.
“This is a good sign for the economy. It shows that more Australians are getting back on their feet and resuming their loan repayments,” said Australian Banking Association chief executive Anna Bligh.
Australian banks provided a loan repayment deferral to around one in 11 Australian mortgage-holders and to one in eight small-business owners to provide some breathing space during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These loan deferrals have helped hundreds of thousands of Australian families and small businesses survive the pandemic,” Ms Bligh said.
Repayments have resumed on at least 82,000 small and medium business loans. This means two in five (41 per cent) small and medium business loans that had been deferred are now being repaid again.
Now, six months after the introduction of deferrals, repayments have resumed on almost half of the deferred loans.
In just the past month, as customers came to the end of their six-month deferral, more than 130,000 mortgages and 50,000 SME loans had their repayments resumed.
According to the data from Australia’s seven largest banks, the total number of deferred loans has dropped to 439,000.
“Right now, it’s really important that people contact their bank to figure out the path ahead. The earlier you speak to your bank, the more options they have to help you find a way through,” Ms Bligh said.
“Banks will work with customers to figure out a tailor-made solution. That might include restructuring a loan, or in some cases, granting an additional four-month deferral.”
“If you are in financial difficulty, please call your bank, they can help you find a way through. Don’t tough it out on your own.”
RELATED ARTICLES
-
Australia’s credit pivot: Mortgage enquiries hit a three‑year peak as households lean on plastic — what lenders and fintechs must do next
-
Trust is the new yield: Why brokers win when credibility compounds
-
Mortgage Relief Window: How Australia’s Lenders Are Rewiring Risk and Growth at a Three‑Year Lull
About the author
About the author
Loans
Australia’s credit pivot: Mortgage enquiries hit a three‑year peak as households lean on plastic — what lenders and fintechs must do next
Australian home loan interest has rebounded even as households lean harder on cards and personal loans — a classic late‑cycle signal that demands sharper risk, pricing and AI executionRead more
Loans
Trust is the new yield: Why brokers win when credibility compounds
In a market where products look interchangeable, credibility has become the most defensible asset in mortgage broking. With broker channel share hitting record highs and AI reshaping client ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage Relief Window: How Australia’s Lenders Are Rewiring Risk and Growth at a Three‑Year Lull
Australia’s mortgage stress has eased to its lowest level since early 2023, creating a rare—likely brief—window for lenders, brokers and fintechs to reset risk and rebuild growth. This case study ...Read more
Loans
Why ANZ’s tougher stance on company-borrowed home loans matters: A case study in risk recalibration, competition, and what CFOs should do next
ANZ has tightened mortgage credit parameters for loans where a company or trust is the borrower—an apparently narrow policy tweak with wide operational consequences. It signals a broader recalibration ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage 2026: Australia’s share‑of‑wallet war will be won on switching, data rights and AI discipline
The defining feature of Australia’s 2026 mortgage market won’t be house prices; it will be switching velocity. With competition reforms sharpening the Consumer Data Right, lenders and brokers that ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage remorse reshapes the game: Australia's lending squeeze set to redefine banking and household demand
A growing cohort of Australians is rethinking recent home loan decisions as higher repayments collide with household budgets. This isn’t just consumer angst; it’s an economy-wide red flag for lenders, ...Read more
Loans
Aussie mortgage game-changer: Brokers dominate while AI sharpens the edge
Mortgage brokers now originate roughly three in four new Australian home loans, a structural shift that rewires bank economics, product strategy and customer acquisition. MFAA data shows broker market ...Read more
Loans
Fixing the future: How brokers and lenders can turn rate-hike anxiety into strategic advantage
Australian borrowers are leaning into short-term fixed loans as rate uncertainty lingers, shifting risk from households to lenders and their funding partners. That creates a narrow window for broker ...Read more
Loans
Australia’s credit pivot: Mortgage enquiries hit a three‑year peak as households lean on plastic — what lenders and fintechs must do next
Australian home loan interest has rebounded even as households lean harder on cards and personal loans — a classic late‑cycle signal that demands sharper risk, pricing and AI executionRead more
Loans
Trust is the new yield: Why brokers win when credibility compounds
In a market where products look interchangeable, credibility has become the most defensible asset in mortgage broking. With broker channel share hitting record highs and AI reshaping client ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage Relief Window: How Australia’s Lenders Are Rewiring Risk and Growth at a Three‑Year Lull
Australia’s mortgage stress has eased to its lowest level since early 2023, creating a rare—likely brief—window for lenders, brokers and fintechs to reset risk and rebuild growth. This case study ...Read more
Loans
Why ANZ’s tougher stance on company-borrowed home loans matters: A case study in risk recalibration, competition, and what CFOs should do next
ANZ has tightened mortgage credit parameters for loans where a company or trust is the borrower—an apparently narrow policy tweak with wide operational consequences. It signals a broader recalibration ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage 2026: Australia’s share‑of‑wallet war will be won on switching, data rights and AI discipline
The defining feature of Australia’s 2026 mortgage market won’t be house prices; it will be switching velocity. With competition reforms sharpening the Consumer Data Right, lenders and brokers that ...Read more
Loans
Mortgage remorse reshapes the game: Australia's lending squeeze set to redefine banking and household demand
A growing cohort of Australians is rethinking recent home loan decisions as higher repayments collide with household budgets. This isn’t just consumer angst; it’s an economy-wide red flag for lenders, ...Read more
Loans
Aussie mortgage game-changer: Brokers dominate while AI sharpens the edge
Mortgage brokers now originate roughly three in four new Australian home loans, a structural shift that rewires bank economics, product strategy and customer acquisition. MFAA data shows broker market ...Read more
Loans
Fixing the future: How brokers and lenders can turn rate-hike anxiety into strategic advantage
Australian borrowers are leaning into short-term fixed loans as rate uncertainty lingers, shifting risk from households to lenders and their funding partners. That creates a narrow window for broker ...Read more
