Mortgage stress and precarious home ownership: implications for older Australians

This research investigated the growing numbers of middle aged and older Australians who are carrying mortgage debt into retirement and paying off higher levels of debt relative to house values and income. Between 1987 and 2015, mortgage debt among older mortgagors increased by 600 per cent (from $27,000 to over $185,000). These trends have significant consequences for older Australians’ wellbeing, retirement wealth management and government incomes policy and housing assistance programs.