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A new report confirms what most homeowners already know - mortgage repayments are gobbling up more and more of the weekly pay packet.
The Home Loan Affordability Report for June, published by www.interest.co.nz, reveals that it takes at least 81.2 per cent of the average pay to service a standard mortgage on a median-priced house - up from 45.3 per cent five years ago. The situation is worst in Auckland, where a standard mortgage payment burns through 101.4 per cent of the average take-home pay. A year ago, the index was 86.9 per cent. Only the Central Otago Lakes is less affordable, at 105.9 per cent.
"Home loans are getting less affordable ... because house prices and interest rates are rising faster than take-home pay," the report's author, David Chaston, said.
Weekly net pay inched up by $28.79 in the past 12 months, while weekly mortgage payments for a median-priced house leaped by $107.12. House prices rose 12.1 per cent while the benchmark interest rate climbed from 7.94 per cent to 9.22 per cent.
