The Urban Developer
AdvertiseEventsWebinars
Urbanity
Awards
Sign In
Membership
Latest
Menu
Location
Sector
Category
Content
Type
Newsletters
FINAL CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR URBANITY-25 JOIN MORE THAN 550 ALREADY ATTENDING
LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR URBANITY 550+ ALREADY ATTENDING
REGISTER NOWDETAILS
TheUrbanDeveloper
Follow
About
About Us
Membership
Awards
Events
Webinars
Listings
Resources
Terms & Conditions
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Republishing Guidelines
Editorial Charter
Complaints Handling Policy
Contact
General Enquiries
Advertise
Contribution Enquiry
Project Submission
Membership Enquiry
Newsletter
Stay up to date and with the latest news, projects, deals and features.
Subscribe
ADVERTISEMENT
SHARE
print
Print
OtherStaff WriterWed 20 Sep 17

Higher Income Households More Likely Over-Indebted

iStock-521114693_620x380

Higher income households are more likely to be over-indebted than lower income ones, according to a recent household income and wealth survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The 2015-16 household income and wealth survey results, which included household debt and over-indebtedness, considered a household to be over indebted if their debt was either three or more times their income, or 75 per cent or more of the value of their assets.

Based on the figures, CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher said ABS data revealed 21.6% of households are over-indebted, 51.9% of households are not over-indebted and 26.4% of households have no debt.

According to the results, households with the lowest disposable income are the least likely to be over-indebted while the fourth quintile households are most likely to be over-indebted. The end result was that households with higher incomes are less likely to be debt free and are more likely to be over-indebted than lower income households.

“Lower income households are more likely to be debt-free compared to higher income households which is reflective of many lower income households having paid off their debt," Kusher said.


"The data shows that 94.6% of households which are either not over-indebted (37.8%) or without debt (56.8%) have no persons in the labour force which is reflective of retirees or people that are in a position to choose not to work.”

Households with mortgage debt are more likely to be over-indebted than those households that either rent or own their home outright; only 3.5% of households that own without a mortgage are considered to be over-indebted compared to 47.0% of household with a mortgage and 9.1% of rental households.

Lone person households were likely to be those persons who are living debt free (45.9%), while single family households with a couple and dependent children (10.7%) were the least likely to be living debt free.

Households that were over-indebted spent 24.2% of all goods and services expenditure on housing costs compared to not over-indebted households spending 16.8% of their expenditure on housing costs.

Over-indebted households on average spent more than double ($150.54) each week on their mortgage repayments than households which were not over-indebted ($73.44).

“Households with no mortgage debt, most of which are retiree households, are least likely to be over-indebted," Kusher said.

"On the other hand, higher income households with a family that have outstanding mortgage debt are those most likely to be over-indebted.

“While you could say that families of working age with higher incomes are better able to service their debt, interest rate hikes or reductions in the value of their assets could have a significant impact on their ability to service their debt.”

ResidentialAustraliaFinanceReal EstateSector
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
"TheUrbanDeveloper.com is committed to delivering the latest news, reviews, opinions and insights into the best of urban development from Australia and around the world. "
More articles by this author
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP STORIES
Warren and Mahoney Western Bulldogs Women's Health and Leadership Hub HERO
Exclusive

Beyond the Boys’ Club: Inclusive Architecture Disrupting Sporting Precincts

Leon Della Bosca
7 Min
Exclusive

Inside the $10m Heritage Refit of Sydney’s $25,000-a-Year Members’ Club

Taryn Paris
4 Min
Kurraba Point 93 Kurraba Road TUD PLUS
Residential

Council Over Court: How HFO Won Rare North Sydney Approval

Vanessa Croll
7 Min
Exclusive

Why Sentinel is Betting Big on Olympic City Office Sector

Phil Bartsch
5 Min
The Port of Brisbane has released its Vision 2060 which details the need for inland rail connectivity
Infrastructure

Brisbane Port’s $15bn Future Faces One Big Obstacle

Renee McKeown
5 Min
View All >
Court Place in the Subi East precinct is set to deliver 447 new homes, including 300 affordable and 147 social homes in a prime location just four kilometres from the Perth CBD.
Community

Providers Selected for Subi, East Freo Housing Projects

Renee McKeown
Goldfields Kyneton Central Edgecombe Road precinct rendering
Development

Goldfields Forges Ahead on $150m Kyneton Central Hub

Leon Della Bosca
An aerial view of Ipswich, whose suburb Springfield Lakes, had the highest number of house sales for Queensland in Q2, 2025.
Residential

Ipswich Suburb Leads Queensland House Sales

Marisa Wikramanayake
A quiet dark horse in the race, Ipswich's Springfield Lakes has now topped Queensland's house sales list for the second …
LATEST
Court Place in the Subi East precinct is set to deliver 447 new homes, including 300 affordable and 147 social homes in a prime location just four kilometres from the Perth CBD.
Community

Providers Selected for Subi, East Freo Housing Projects

Renee McKeown
3 Min
Goldfields Kyneton Central Edgecombe Road precinct rendering
Development

Goldfields Forges Ahead on $150m Kyneton Central Hub

Leon Della Bosca
3 Min
An aerial view of Ipswich, whose suburb Springfield Lakes, had the highest number of house sales for Queensland in Q2, 2025.
Residential

Ipswich Suburb Leads Queensland House Sales

Marisa Wikramanayake
5 Min
Development

Zen Group’s West End Towers Greenlit

Taryn Paris
2 Min
View All >
ADVERTISEMENT
Article originally posted at: https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/higher-household-income-more-likely-over-indebted