Some Australian suburbs are in for a whole lot of mortgage pain as they could see the mortgage on their home more than double compared to just six years ago.
Homeowners are facing skyrocketing interest rates following the Reserve Bank’s decision to hike rates in its May monthly meeting for the first time in 12 years. Another meeting is set for next week and economists are predicting the OCR to reach 1.75% by year’s end.
Data from PropTrack revealed that new homeowners across Australia are spending potentially more than double than their predecessors from 2016 to keep on top of mortgage payments – and this may only get worse should interest rates continue to rise, news.com.au reported.
Homeowners have been left to foot a hefty mortgage bill as property values have risen by staggering levels in recent years.
In terms of overall mortgage repayments, nine of the hardest-hit suburbs in the country were in Sydney, with just one in Melbourne.
When it came to houses and units with the largest monthly debts to pay, Sydney, regional NSW, and regional Queensland topped the charts.
Nationally, Vaucluse, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, came out as a clear loser in terms of mortgage repayments for houses. Vaucluse residents currently pay an average $26,500 every month for the privilege to live in the suburb, and this amount is set to spike to nearly $33,000 by the end of the year. It isn’t too hard to see why as the median sale price for that suburb is a whopping $8.2 million. That’s compared to the average mansion being worth $4.2 million in 2016, with mortgage repayments at $19,000 per month, news.com.au reported.
Also on the list were other suburbs in Sydney’s east, including Bellevue Hill, Dover Heights, Clovelly, Bronte, and South Cooggee. Two northern Sydney suburbs also got an honourable mention—Palm Beach and Northbridge.
Also on the top-10 list were Sunshine Beach in the Queensland locality of Noosa and Byron Bay in northern NSW.
Another plush Sydney suburb in the Northern Beaches, Palm Beach, topped the charts for all the wrong reasons — for being the most debt-intensive suburb out of all the houses and units in the country. Residents currently spend nearly $20,000 a month on their mortgage, but that is set to increase to nearly $25,000 by the end of the year if the rate rises as the industry has forecast. New homeowners have to scrape together $6.2 million to enter the suburb, going off its average price, compared to just $2.28 million in 2016, news.com.au reported.
Portsea along Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula ranked second on the list from the level that mortgage repayments have increased over just six years. From the mortgage cost of $7,700 every month on units and homes in mid-2016, this has nearly doubled to the current $12,000, and is expected to surge to $15,000.
Sydney’s eastern locale of Dover Heights will also feel the sting of rising rates, with average monthly payments on units and houses in the area to hit nearly $22,000 by the end of the year.
Elsewhere, other suburbs around the state are also in the firing line for hip-pocket pain.
In NSW, Palm Beach had the highest level of mortgage payments for overall dwellings, while Vaucluse topped the list for houses. Suffolk Park in Byron Bay has the most expensive units in the state.
In Victoria, Portsea came first for overall dwellings and houses. Melbourne’s Mont Albert North has units with a mortgage value of $4,000 a month.
In Queensland, Sunshine Beach owed the most to banks for both its houses and apartments, at $11,400 and $4,900, respectively. Those figures will grow to $14,000 and $6,000 once interest rates reach 1.75%, news.com.au reported.
