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Close to one-tenth of Australians have said their home loan is the largest contributor to their cost-of-living pressures, according to new research from NAB.
New data from NAB based on a survey of around 2,000 consumers has found the majority of Australians have noticed higher costs of living, with higher prices across groceries, transport and utilities.
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Mortgages had been the primary contributor to cost of living pressures for 12 per cent of respondents during the June quarter, the report by NAB head of behavioural and industry economics Dean Pearson and associate director for economics Robert De Iure stated.
This was consistent with the previous quarter, and down year on year, from when 17 per cent of consumers agreed.
But perceptions about rising mortgage costs had also jumped sharply over the June quarter, up to 41 per cent, from the previous 21 per cent who agreed mortgage costs were increasing in the three months to March.
NSW and Victoria residents were far more likely to say their home loans had added the most to their costs of living than other states, with 15 per cent and 14 per, cent respectively – in contrast to 11 per cent in WA, 9 per cent in Queensland and SA/NT, and 4 per cent in Tasmania.
Home loan costs were also impacting more consumers in capital and regional cities (14 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively) than rural areas (6 per cent).
Customers in younger age groups were also more likely to be burnt by mortgage costs, with 19 per cent in the 30-49 age cohort registering impacts, alongside 17 per cent in the 18-29 age bracket.
For those aged 50-64, only 7 per cent said mortgage costs had added the most to their cost of living, while only 3 per cent of people aged 65 and above agreed.
Consumers in higher income brackets were also more likely to register mortgages as the largest contributor for costs, with 16 per cent of those earning between $75,000 to $100,000 and 21 per cent of people earning six figure salaries.
A number of Australians had reacted to their incomes being squeezed, with one in two choosing to either switch to cheaper brands or shop around for cheaper products.
Many had also targeted non-essential spending, such as food delivery services (43 per cent) or entertainment such as cinema or theatre (40 per cent).
However around one in 10 Australians said they had deliberately missed a rent or mortgage repayment (9 per cent) or had cut back mortgage repayments or drawn down equity from loans (12 per cent).
This jumped up in SA/NT, where 18 per cent of consumers said they had cut back mortgage repayments or drawn down loan equity.
Across states, Queenslanders were the most likely to perceive a change in mortgage costs at 48 per cent – compared to 40 per cent in NSW/ACT or 35 per cent in Victoria.
South Australians and Northern Territorians however were closer to the sunshine state, at 45 per cent, while WA followed closely behind at 42 per cent.
In Tasmania meanwhile, 37 per cent of consumers perceived a change in mortgage costs.
Bluestone’s Home Loan Affordability Index recently gave the lowest reading for affordability since 2011.
More than half (51 per cent) of borrowers have said they are willing to make changes to their home loans in response to higher rates, in a May survey from Money.
Meanwhile CBA data has shown that household spending has eased amid the Reserve Bank’s rate hikes.
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