2016 Census state-by-state breakdown of mortgages

According to the 2016 Census data, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week, weekly rental rates mostly increased across the nation, while mortgages mostly decreased.

NSW

The median mortgage payment for mortgagors in NSW decreased to $1,986, down from $1,993 in 2011 (when the last census was held).

Mortgages seem to have become more affordable in the eastern state too, with 92.6 per cent of mortgage payments being less than 30 per cent of a household’s income, up from 89.5 per cent.

Victoria

Victoria’s median mortgage monthly repayments increased to $1,728, up from $1,700 in 2011. However, like NSW, 92.5 per cent of Victorian mortgage repayments accounted for less than 30 per cent of household income, up from 89.9 per cent. Mortgage repayments equal to or more than 30 per cent were at 7.5 per cent, down from 10.1 per cent.

Queensland

Median mortgage repayments decreased to $1,733, down from $1,850 in 2011’s census. Following the trend of more affordable mortgages, 93.6 per cent of households in the sunshine state were spending less than 30 per cent of their household income repaying mortgages, up from 90.3 per cent.

Just 6.4 per cent of households were spending 30 per cent or more of their household income repaying mortgages, down from 9.7 per cent.

South Australia

South Australians reported a slight decrease in median mortgage repayments in 2016, down to $1,491 from $1,500 in 2011.

Just over 93 per cent of mortgage payments cost households less than 30 per cent of their total income, up from 91.2 per cent, while 6.6 per cent of households’ mortgage repayments were worth equal to or more than 30 per cent of household income, down from 8.8 per cent.

Western Australia

Unlike the general trend of decreasing mortgage repayments, those in Western Australia are paying more than five years ago.

Monthly median mortgage repayments increased to $1,993, up from $1,950 in 2011. Despite the rise, mortgage repayments were reportedly more affordable, with 91.4 per cent of Western Australians paying less than 30 per cent of their total household income, up from 89.9 per cent in the last census.

WA also had the largest proportion of borrowers paying more than 30 per cent of their income to mortgage repayments, coming in at 8.6 per cent. However, this was still down from the 2011 figure of 10.2 per cent.

Northern Territory

Northern Territorians' monthly median mortgage repayments also increased, rising from $2,054 to $2,167 in 2016.

Unlike rent payment, however, mortgage repayments are becoming more affordable, with 94.5 per cent of households paying less than 30 per cent of total household income for mortgage repayments, up from 92.3 per cent in 2011. Likewise, the proportion of those paying more than 30 per cent of their income on repayments decreased, from 7.7 per cent to 5.5 per cent.

Tasmania

Tasmania was the only state not to see a change in its monthly median mortgage repayments, staying steady at $1,300. However, a greater proportion of households were paying less than 30 per cent of their total income (94.9 per cent compared to 92.5 per cent) while less were paying more than this (5.1 per cent down from 7.5 per cent).

ACT

Following the majority of states and territories, the ACT saw a decrease in median monthly mortgage repayments at $2,058, down from $2,167.

Median monthly mortgage repayments also became more affordable, with 94.5 per cent of ACT residents paying less than 30 per cent of total household income, up from 92.2 per cent in 2011. As in other states, fewer households were paying more than 30 per cent of their income to mortgage repayments, down from 7.8 per cent to 5.5 per cent.

[Related: Fall in home-ownership not surprising, says CoreLogic]