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Around 350,000 households have been rescued from mortgage stress as a result of the dramatic fall in interest rates over the past four months.
Figures released by the Housing Industry Association (HIA) on Friday showed the number of households in mortgage stress fell from 934,502 in August to 584,354 in December.
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A household is said to be in mortgage stress if more than 30 per cent of pre-tax income is spent on mortgage repayments.
In some locations the number of households in mortgage stress has more than halved – in Brisbane alone those under pressure fell from approximately 82,000 to 34,000.
In Sydney the number of stressed households fell from 236,000 to around 160,000.
“While these numbers are welcome relief for households, weaker employment prospects in 2009 could undo this good news,” HIA chief executive of policy Chris Lamont warned.
