interest bill hitting home buyers, spending [Video]

A tenth of Australians’ take-home pay is now going to mortgages, with almost $20 billion paid to cover home loan interest bills in the past three months alone as signs grow the cost is forcing consumers to cut spending.

As Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of economic mismanagement that has stopped Australia getting interest rate cuts in line with other nations, Reserve Bank data showed the interest bill on owner-occupier mortgages climbed to a record $19.2 billion in the March quarter.

Over the past 12 months, interest costs have soared by 25 per cent, or $3.9 billion. Since the Reserve Bank started lifting official interest rates in early 2022, the interest repayments incurred by borrowers have climbed by $11.7 billion a quarter, …