Figures from the Australian Prudential Regulations Authority (APRA) shows that the growth of investors in the country's real estate market is pushing up the number of interest-only and offset mortgages.
Data from APRA'S domestic Australian Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions' property exposure for the December 2013 quarter revealed that 34.6 per cent of all mortgagees had a loan with an offset facility - the highest proportion in the history of the index.
There was also a record high in interest-only mortgage loans of 35 per cent - up from 33.8 per cent in the last three months of 2013, reports AustralianBroker Online.
"This is not without risks particularly if housing market conditions or monetary policy settings shift rapidly," said Cameron Kusher, senior research analyst at RP Data.
Interest rates are at all-time low in Australia at present following a number of rate cuts. However, if rates did begin to increase then some buyers could find themselves overstretched.
Posted by Craig Francis.
