Stephen Robertson interviewed by Newshub
If you reckon you were financially better off 18 months ago, chances are you're right. Household wealth has fallen by 9 percent since the end of 2021.
Many borrowers have also come off very low fixed mortgage rates but another 50 percent of mortgages are still due to be refixed in the coming year.
As an example, the economists say if you purchased an average-priced home with an 80 percent mortgage two years ago, you could face an increase of $900 a month. But if you bought that home in Auckland, the rise could be closer to $1600.
Data from the Reserve Bank shows households with mortgages are already spending around 15 percent of their income on interest payments and this could rise to 20 percent by the end of the year.
"There's a lot of pressure coming on borrowers... a lot of people got big loans on cheap rates, who are now facing the prospect of having to come up with quite a lot of money extra from an already tight budget," My Money mortgage broker Stephen Robertson said.
