Revealed: The banks, lenders repossessing the most houses in South Australia

Almost one South Aussie a week is being evicted from their home for failing to pay their mortgage and a taxpayer-backed lender is among the worst. Search the list.

The lenders most likely to reprocess your house in South Australia can be revaled. Picture: Stock

A South Australian taxpayer-backed lender has among the highest house seizure rates as official figures show more people are losing their homes after failing to pay their mortgage.

State Government statistics obtained under Freedom of Information laws show dozens of lenders successfully sought court orders to repossess thousands of properties over the past decade.

Hundreds of homeowners were then evicted – almost one a week last year, Courts Administration Authority data shows.

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Australia’s biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and HomeStart Finance – a state government organisation that issued a near 20-year high of 2869 loans last year including 1905 to first home buyers – were the most likely to repossess a customer’s home.

All lenders had significantly fewer cases last year than a decade ago, a league table reveals.

While court orders for repossession rose to a five-year high in 2024, the number of warrants issued – when a judge evicts a homeowner after all talks and mediation fails – were at the second lowest level.

As banks said foreclosure was a “last resort” and had specific teams to help, industry experts said the 2019 banking royal commission forced better lending practices.

Real estate experts also suggested lower repossessions were partly due to cashed-up buyers, especially from interstate, while a housing shortage meant a lack of other options for struggling homeowners.

But the opposition called for new budget measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis such as expanding stamp duty concessions to first home buyers to include established homes.

Opposition spokeswoman Michelle Lensink warned the government “can and must do more”.

“Housing affordability is one of the biggest stresses South Australians are facing,” she said.

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan declined to reveal any upcoming budget initiatives, but said the government had already abolished stamp duty for first new home buyers “making it easier for South Australians to enter the property market”.

The CAA data shows over the past 12 years 160 lenders – from big banks to smaller lenders – successfully sought 4196 court orders for possessions under the Real Property Act.

Judges made 154 orders last year – the highest since Covid-19 – compared to 633 in 2013.

Eviction warrants were issued for 40 homeowners last year – the second lowest behind the pandemic’s first year – compared to 204 in 2013.

A spokeswoman for HomeStart, which provides low deposit loans, said its orders were the lowest in a decade, comparable to its market share and 90-day arrears rate at near record lows.

“(This) is a testament to our responsible lending practices and demonstrates our customers’ commitment to maintaining their homes amid cost-of-living pressures,” she said.

“We understand that customers may be experiencing cost-of-living pressures and customers may have trouble meeting their loan repayments for various reasons.”

A CBA spokesman urged customers to have “proactive conversations” for specialised support.

“As Australia’s largest home loan provider, we take our role as a responsible lender seriously and our low levels of arrears reflects our stringent lending criteria,” he said.

“Significantly, over the past decade we’ve seen our repossession rates fall by more than 80 per cent across SA, in part due to the enhancement of our support measures and the delivery of tailored solutions for our customers.”

An ANZ spokeswoman added: “Our priority is always to help our customers get back on track. If a customer is facing difficulties, we urge them to contact us as early as possible.”

Real Estate Institute chief executive officer, Andrea Heading, said SA had a low “stock” of properties for sale although median house prices were at record rates.

“The increase in repossessions … could also be attributable to the cost of living pressures across the board (rise in electricity, water, council rates) and ancillaries,” she said.

Mr Mullighan said HomeStart’s low deposit loans were helping thousands, who were unable to gain finance through traditional lenders, achieve their home ownership dream.

“Loan default rates compare favourably against other lenders,” he said.

“This data reinforces that it’s rare for HomeStart to seek warrants … or housing repossessions and that the incidence of this continues to decline.”

Originally published as Revealed: The banks, lenders repossessing the most houses in South Australia