{"id":675074,"date":"2026-11-04T21:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T21:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/675074\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T21:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T21:46:12","slug":"wa-mortgage-default-risk-nearly-6000-households-at-risk-as-interest-rates-reach-18-year-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/675074\/","title":{"rendered":"WA mortgage default risk: Nearly 6000 households at risk as interest rates reach 18-year high"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Holly Thompson\" data-testid=\"author-avatar-image\" height=\"64\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/3a21ade19e83efa5d41c479a92cf48548b357bb6.png\"  width=\"64\" class=\"sc-9a01536c-0 libeSR\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"article-datetime\" class=\"sc-5cbbddda-5 hxoHkT\">November 5, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n<p>Save<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-d1b14060-4 JmUoF\">You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n<p>Remove items from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/goodfood\/saved\" class=\"sc-3f16ee48-12 sc-d1b14060-2 jyLmZI iQLtAb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n<p id=\"gift-modal-heading\" class=\"sc-cc1ff359-7 cTuVzZ\">Gift this free article<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-cc1ff359-8 ctIrFC\">Share full article with anyone \u2014 no subscription needed to read it. It won&#8217;t deduct your gift credits. <a href=\"https:\/\/help.smh.com.au\/hc\/en-au\/articles\/10940007258265-Website\" class=\"sc-cc1ff359-9 oicuO\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Share article as gift<\/p>\n<p>AAA<\/p>\n<p>Almost 6000 households across 10 West Australian suburbs are at risk of falling behind on their mortgage repayments in the next year, new data shows.<\/p>\n<p>Digital Finance Analytics\u2019 Q3 2026 Mortgage Default Risk Report <a class=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/politics\/federal\/rba-raises-interest-rates-to-18-year-high-20261103-p61av6.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">follows the fifth interest rate hike of the year<\/a>, from 4.6 per cent to 4.85 per cent \u2013 the highest in 18 years.<\/p>\n<p>That announcement will add about $100 a month to repayments on a 30-year $600,000 mortgage.<\/p>\n<p>Mortgage default risk \u2013 the risk of a missed payment that flags the loan with the lender as out of order \u2013 has risen 26.4 per cent over the past year in WA according to the data, and by 7.3 per cent for the quarter.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the second-highest increase nationally behind South Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Canning Vale recorded a 31 per cent risk increase in just three months \u2013 the sharpest quarterly increase \u2013 from 343 to 448 households at risk of falling behind on repayments in the next 12 months.<\/p>\n<p>Armadale was a close second with 805 households now at risk.<\/p>\n<p>Mandurah recorded 966 at-risk households, the largest count in WA and the second-largest nationally, but the postcode recorded no reading in June, meaning its quarterly change could not be calculated.<\/p>\n<p>The data assumes that nothing changes in the next 12 months, including household income and interest rates.<\/p>\n<p>Mansour Soltani, the head of research at finance and property research platform OurTop10, said there was a direct correlation between the company\u2019s Mortgage Stress Report for the quarter and mortgage default risk.<\/p>\n<p>Related Article<a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/property\/news\/how-home-owners-are-beating-the-latest-rate-hike-20261104-p60a0v.html\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Calum Howe was prepared for more interest rate rises when he bought recently.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/c0399bb2e5059d0d92f2d8568df2a4d65b6122d0.jpeg\"  class=\"sc-d34e428-1 ioInpc\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe count mortgage stress a little bit different to counterparts in the industry, where the traditional has been if 30 per cent of your household income is going to your mortgage, you\u2019re in mortgage stress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf more of your money is going out than you\u2019re actually earning, and you\u2019re then relying on things such as credit cards for groceries, that\u2019s mortgage stress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I have a look at Canning Vale, six out of 10 households are in mortgage stress, so that\u2019s going to have a direct correlation to why Canning Vale is high on the default report.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Soltani said the 10 suburbs were also listed in the Mortgage Stress Report as the areas where households were in the \u201cmost dire positions\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>He said one of two things could happen following the latest interest rate hike.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to see an increase in mortgage stress, which is going to create an increase in either defaults or properties hitting the market, which are going to have a negative effect on pricing because there\u2019s going to be more stock available,\u201d Soltani said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis might be fortunate for buyers, but it is unfortunate for sellers. The thing is that when the rate increases, it takes a while for it to hit the system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a while before we see positive news out of this. I think we\u2019re we\u2019re going to be continually expecting these numbers to get worse, at least over the next two to three quarters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Save<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-d1b14060-4 JmUoF\">You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n<p>Remove items from your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/goodfood\/saved\" class=\"sc-3f16ee48-12 sc-d1b14060-2 jyLmZI iQLtAb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n<p id=\"gift-modal-heading\" class=\"sc-cc1ff359-7 cTuVzZ\">Gift this free article<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-cc1ff359-8 ctIrFC\">Share full article with anyone \u2014 no subscription needed to read it. It won&#8217;t deduct your gift credits. <a href=\"https:\/\/help.smh.com.au\/hc\/en-au\/articles\/10940007258265-Website\" class=\"sc-cc1ff359-9 oicuO\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Share article as gift<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Holly Thompson\" data-testid=\"author-avatar-image\" height=\"40\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/1793828772_137_3a21ade19e83efa5d41c479a92cf48548b357bb6.png\"  width=\"40\" class=\"sc-9a01536c-0 libeSR\"\/><a class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm sc-b5b9fd03-2 jcGta-D\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/by\/holly-thompson-p535wg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Holly Thompson<\/a> is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via <a class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm sc-b5b9fd03-5 czsZcI\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hollym_thompson?lang=en\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">X<\/a> or <a class=\"sc-cba76dee-0 hdiTqm sc-b5b9fd03-5 czsZcI\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/property\/news\/mailto:holly.thompson@watoday.com.au\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"November 5, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. 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