More Aussie households falling of financial cliff with property possession at five-year high

Mortgage holders facing high interest rates and cost-of-living pressures are beginning to ­falter with the number of ­Supreme Court filings for property possession soaring to its highest level in five years.

Mortgage holders facing high interest rates and cost-of-living pressures are beginning to ­falter with the number of ­Supreme Court filings for property possession soaring to its highest level in five years.

Deemed a last resort, lenders only take possession action when loan repayments cannot be made.

Lenders will first issue a ­default notice with a period of time for a mortgage holder to make the repayments, before taking action to have the ­property sold.

Court figures for 2024 show more households are tipping over the financial cliff with 1632 filings for possession last year – up from 616 in 2020.

The court dealt with 1524 of the matters, with just 83 being contested.

The figures show possession filings have been tracking up since 2020, with 710 filed in 2021, 1059 in 2022 and 1413 in 2023.

Opposition treasury spokesperson Angus Taylor says there is no relief for Aussies from the current mortgage nightmare. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The figures capture both possession of land, including unimproved sites and those used for residential, commercial or investment purposes.

They do not include the number of the properties that were ultimately seized by the NSW Sherriff.

Opposition treasury spokesperson Angus Taylor said the burden being faced by Australian households was “astronomical” with “a typical family in NSW” paying an additional $50,000 in interest since the election “and that is forecast to go up to nearly $60,000 as the months roll by”.

“There is no relief from ­Australia’s mortgage nightmare under the weight of 12 ­interest rate increases under Labor,” he said.

“In the almost three years Labor has been in government, our nation’s mortgage bill has tripled.

“The burden faced by ­Australian households is ­astronomical.

“Labor’s economic mismanagement has kept inflation and interest rates higher for longer and it’s hardworking Australians left paying the highest price.”

Figures for August last year from mortgage specialist ­Digital Finance ­Analytics showed just over half of all homeowners nationally were struggling to keep a roof over their head.

The Salvation Army last month declared almost half of all Australians were starting 2025 in debt.

The Albanese government is desperately hoping for the ­Reserve Bank to deliver an ­interest rate cut before it heads into the election.

Should rates fall, it will be the first time since 2020, with the official cash rate having been locked in at 4.35 per cent for more than a year.

The Reserve Bank Board is scheduled to announce its ­decision on February 18.

Originally published as More Aussie households falling of financial cliff with property possession at five-year high