After a challenging few years for household budgets, there’s some encouraging news for borrowers.
 
New research from Roy Morgan shows mortgage stress has dropped to its lowest level since January 2023, indicating many households are starting to feel more comfortable with their repayments.
 
Even so, now’s a good time to think ahead. Building a buffer into your loan can help protect you if rates, expenses or income change down the track.
 
If you’re buying this year, don’t test your budget at today’s repayment only. A safer approach is to check whether you could still manage if rates rose, your expenses jumped or your income changed.
 
If you already have a loan, you’ve got options if cash flow feels tight:
  • Refinancing to reduce the rate or improve features.
  • Restructuring (term, repayment type, offsets) to smooth repayments.
  • Consolidating higher-interest debts so more of your money goes to the mortgage, not interest.
Plenty of people feel cash flow pressure at times – it’s nothing to be ashamed of. The key is catching it early while you still have choices.
 
If you want to sense-check your repayments or make your loan more comfortable, contact me and we’ll map out options that fit your situation.