A growing number of Australians will be looking for a home loan within the next twelve months, even though many expect interest rates to increase again.
Findings from the latest Mortgage Industry Association of Australia (MIAA) and BankWest Home Finance survey show that 25 per cent of respondents will be in the market for a home loan in 2007, even though 81 per cent believe that interest rates will increase in the next quarter.
The survey also found 14 percent of borrowers are finding it harder to pay off their mortgage than expected, up 2 per cent from June, and 22.5 per cent of borrowers would not be comfortable with another rate rise.
The states most affected are NSW, SA and Vic, where more respondents say they are finding repayments harder since the last rate rises.
MIAA chief executive, Phil Naylor, said despite the current climate, home ownership aspirations are surprisingly higher than the last survey.
"Although more people are finding it difficult to make loan repayments compared to research conducted six months earlier, Australians are still driven to one day be home owners," Mr Naylor said.
"People are expecting another rate rise and are clearly aware that economic conditions can change. This is an important consideration when taking out a home loan."
BankWest's head of Broker Sales, Phil Colton, said "with three interest rate rises in less than a year, home owners want to be prepared for bigger repayments should there be another rate rise.
"Despite the impact of this year's rate rises, it is encouraging to see consumers are generally confident in their abilities to manage the biggest purchase they are likely to ever make."
