82,000 Australian Mortgage Deferrals Ending – Hard Times To Follow For Many!

The financial impact of hard lockdowns on Australian households has been revealed, with Victoria shown to have more outstanding mortgage deferrals than any other state in the country.

According to Australia-wide reports, homeowners have started repaying about 81% of the overall mortgage deferrals granted since June 2020. Still, despite these payments being made, a large number of Australians are yet to start their repayments, and about 82,000 of these people are still deferring their home loans.

Victorians have the highest rate of home loan deferrals. Initially, Victoria’s statistics reported 31% home loan deferrals, a number that still stands the same.

Based on the data revealed, Victoria has now surpassed New South Wales, which only has 21% of deferrals still ongoing. It’s indicative that NSW has recovered a lot faster than other states because it was not repeatedly hit by hard lockdowns.

The data also revealed that the fact Victoria has not fully recovered is not least bit surprising, seeing as the state endured long and severe lockdowns compared to other states, courtesy of Daniel Andrews. The state’s economy was closed for the major part of lockdowns, which meant homeowners felt no choice but to defer their home loans even further.

According to Anna Bligh, the CEO of the Australian Bank Association, the lockdowns had a direct impact on people deferring their mortgage repayments. The impact might not have been as severe as was estimated initially. However, it still nailed a big dent in the state’s economy, as Victoria is recuperating 10% slower than other states.

Though Victoria has started to see some positive changes to its economy, small business owners have begun to repay their mortgage payments- a trend indicative of the fact that the working class are soon to follow.

However, not all may be in a position to start repaying their loans- data suggests. This becomes especially tough since Jobkeeper payments are soon to end, along with deadlines for most mortgage deferrals.

It’s estimated that by the end of deferral periods and the Jobkeeper scheme, many businesses and personnel will have very tough decisions to make on their hands. When homeowners were interviewed, it was revealed that most of them deferred their home loan repayments as they felt the need to divert the cash flow to more urgent needs. And many business owners were forced to keep a day-to-day budget!