Rising interest rates and inflation push up mortgage arrears

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

AUSTRALIA’S 30-plus day mortgage arrears rose from long-term lows in the December quarter – a seasonal trend, but one that may have been further fuelled by...

Arrears lifted 11 basis points from the lowest levels since 2002 to 0.82%, according to Fitch’s latest Mortgage Market Index – Australia: The Dinkum RMBS Index...

“Fitch expects recent cash-rate increases by the Reserve Bank of Australia to drive up arrears in 2023, due to the high ratio of household debt to disposable income and the dominance of...

“Mortgages written between 2019 and 2021, when banks tested serviceability using a buffer of 2.5% above the borrower’s interest rate, are...

They said that although arrears typically increase in the fourth quarter, the rise witnessed may indicate that borrowers are beginning to face stress due to inflation and rising interest rates.

“We expect late-stage mortgage arrears to increase in 2023, as borrowers face servicing pressure and the slowing housing market extends the time taken to sell a property...

The Fitch-rated RMBS Index, which includes large issuer-retained transactions, saw 30-plus day arrears increase by five basis points quarter-on-quarter to...

The Dinkum RMBS Index borrower payment rate conditional prepayment rate (CPR) decreased to 28.2% and 26.0%, and remained below the 15-year high of late 2021. The report authors said...

“Over the past two years, CPRs for transactions issued by non-bank lenders have increased substantially above those issued by banks, most likely due to...

They said the relationship between fixed and floating rates has changed, but non-bank lenders have found it hard to maintain low rates in a...

“Fitch expects the non-bank lenders’ prepayment rate to reduce in 2023 as interest rates stabilise and borrowers that have the ability to...

The 30-plus day mortgage arrears for Fitch’s non-conforming index rose by 160 basis points during the quarter to 2.96%, well below the record high of...

“Non-conforming borrowers may be more exposed to interest rate increases as their mortgages carry higher rates and they include self-employed borrowers who...

Home prices across Australia’s eight capital cities decreased by 3.3% during the quarter and 6.9% year-on-year, the largest annual decline since...

“Fitch expects home prices to continue to fall in 2023 on affordability constraints and credit tightening. However, losses from the sale of...

Fitch-rated RMBS transactions continue to experience “extremely low levels” of realised losses, and the excess spread was sufficient to cover principal shortfalls on...

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