One in eight Aussies admit to missing a mortgage repayment after RBA hiked interest rates

A worrying one in eight homeowners have missed a mortgage repayment over the past six months, according to new research.

Homeowners are “struggling” to make mortgage repayments as the RBA continues to lift interest rates, forcing many to pay an extra $1000 per month.

More than one in eight homeowners have missed a mortgage repayment over the past six months, according new research conducted by Finder.

The survey was conducted before last week’s latest rate hike when the RBA lifted the cash rate for the ninth consecutive time to 3.35 per cent.

Of the 313 people surveyed with a mortgage, 13 per cent admitted to missing a repayment since July 2022.

One in eight homeowners have missed a mortgage repayment in the last year. Picture NCA NewsWire / Seb Haggett

The research found 7 per cent of mortgage holders missed one home loan repayment over the past six months, while 6 per cent missed more than one.

“That’s the equivalent of 429,000 mortgagors who have missed a repayment since July,” a Finder spokesman said.

More than one in four homeowners said they were worried they were going to miss a repayment in the future.

Home loans expert Richard Witten said the rising levels of mortgage stress in Australia were “worrying”.

“Nine consecutive rate hikes from the RBA means an Australian with the average loan size of around $600k will be paying roughly $1000 more per month compared to what they were paying in April last year,“ Mr Whitten said.

Homeowners are ‘struggling’ to make mortgage repayments, research has found.

“Households are really struggling with the monthly outlay and some just can’t keep up.”

The lead cause of missing a repayment was rising interest rates, while 33 per cent of homeowners said they simply forgot to pay in time.

A whopping 25 per cent of people surveyed said they missed a payment because they had run out of money after paying other bills.

One in seven participants say they think they will miss a repayment in the next six months if costs continue to rise.

Mr Whitten said many Australian mortgages were rising too quickly.

“With mortgage rates shooting over 5 per cent in 2023, Aussies who had been diligently servicing their monthly repayments are finding it harder to do so,” he said.

The RBA last week lifted the cash rate for the ninth consecutive time to 3.35 per cent. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

“With further rate hikes predicted – things could be about to get worse.”

Mr Whitten urged homeowners to negotiate better interest rates with their lenders to reduce mortgage stress.

“If you think your lender can’t give you a good enough deal then find something better and switch. Refinancing your home loan takes a few hours’ work but the savings are well worth it,” Mr Whitten said.

“If you know you’re going to miss a payment, talk to your lender first. It’s better to negotiate some kind of hardship arrangement or a repayment holiday than to simply stop repaying the loan. This harms your credit score and puts you at risk of a default.”