The following graphic from CoreLogic shows Australia’s housing affordability was the worst on record at the end of 2024.

In particular, the dwelling value to income ratio was a record high 8.0 as of 31 December 2024, and the percentage of income required to service a median new mortgage was a record high 50.5%.
A record gap had formed between borrowing capacity and housing prices before the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cut the interest rate by 0.25% in February.
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To artificially bridge this hole, a number of lenders in Australia have begun providing 40-year mortgages, two of that are solely for first-time house purchasers.
A current Finder survey additionally discovered that almost one-third of Australian customers would take into account a 40-year mortgage if it lowered their month-to-month repayments to a extra manageable stage.
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In accordance with Canstar, a person on a median full-time wage is eligible to borrow as much as $24,000 extra on a 40-year mortgage than they might on a 30-year time period, whereas a pair working full-time can borrow as much as $48,000 extra.
The next chart from Alex Joiner at IFM Traders reveals how a lengthier 40-year mortgage time period will increase borrowing capability.

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Longer mortgage phrases lower month-to-month repayments, however whole payback prices develop, and extra Australians will carry mortgage debt into retirement.
Unbelievably, AMP has now launched “Australia’s first 10-year interest-only house mortgage with no reassessment”.
We’re excited to announce a brand new 10-year interest-only house mortgage supply with no mid-term reassessment, offering prospects with extra selection, long-term monetary flexibility and larger management over cashflow.
Study extra: https://t.co/UV5IDmHI1r pic.twitter.com/m1cmJRmgmU
— AMP (@AMP_AU) May 4, 2025
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The brand new mortgage is obtainable to eligible debtors, together with retirees, pre-retirees, traders, and owner-occupiers.
AMP cites the next options and advantages:
- 10-year interest-only time period: A decade of interest-only repayments, providing long-term cashflow help.
- No mid-term reassessment: Not like typical merchandise which require reassessment after 5 years, the mortgage gives larger certainty and stability for the complete interest-only time period.
- Versatile eligibility: Obtainable to a variety of debtors, together with retirees, pre-retirees, self-employed people, owner-occupiers, traders, and rent-vestors.
- Monetary confidence: Allows longer-term strategic monetary planning, whether or not it’s unlocking house fairness in retirement or supporting funding targets in earlier life levels.
- High quality of life in retirement: Helps older Australians retain fairness of their house, stay of their house, whereas unlocking cashflow to enhance high quality of life.
- Empowers youthful patrons: Gives an alternate pathway into the property market, significantly for youthful Australians via rent-vesting methods.
- Simplified administration: Reduces paperwork and ongoing reassessment burdens, particularly useful for these with non-traditional revenue sources.
The truth is that this sort of mortgage product will improve borrowing capability, family debt, and finally house costs.
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It would pour extra mortgage gas on the housing bonfire and is finally retrograde from a monetary stability and affordability perspective.
Certain, interest-only loans are an exquisite analgesic for money movement pains, however the ache is just deferred and by no means really goes away.
Australia already has one of the vital costly housing markets on the earth relative to our economic system and family incomes. Demand-side mortgage measures like these will merely drive extra monetary capital into housing, inflating house values additional.
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Extending mortgage phrases and providing 10-year interest-only mortgages are extra makes an attempt to spice up housing demand and provoke a brand new value growth.
Permitting households to borrow extra for his or her properties would obtain the identical factor it normally does: improve debt ranges and long-term housing prices.
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This century has equipped considerable empirical proof for a way the story will conclude. Home costs and debt can be pushed to new heights.

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These new mortgage merchandise additionally come amid the Albanese authorities’s promised state-sponsored subprime mortgage scheme, which can allow all first-time house patrons to buy a house with solely a 5% deposit, with the federal government (taxpayers) guaranteeing 15% of the debtors’ loans.
Labor has additionally directed mortgage lenders to exclude pupil debt of their mortgage serviceability evaluations.
The inevitable end result of those insurance policies can be extra borrowing, larger family debt, and better house costs.
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The celebrities are, subsequently, aligning for a blow-off bubble in Australian house costs.
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