More than 10m Australians to be impacted financially by COVID-19 – study

One in four mortgage borrowers will face financial stress in the next 12 months, survey projects

More than 10m Australians to be impacted financially by COVID-19 – study

More than 10 million Australians have been or expect to be impacted financially by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the 2020 Australia’s Mortgage Deferral Hangover report by ResearchAndMarkets.com.

The report draws from consumer research conducted in March, April and May. ResearchAndMarkets surveyed more than 12,000 Australian consumers in order to forecast the impact of COVID-19 on borrowers and mortgage lenders over the next 12-24 months.

Among the key findings of the report:

  • One in four mortgage borrowers will face financial stress in the next 12 months – 7% higher than at the height of the Global Financial Crisis
  • More than 10 million Australians already have been, or expect to be, impacted financially by the pandemic
  • Almost 300,000 borrowers are likely to seek repayment deferrals over the next 12 months
  • Families and those over 55 will feel the impacts of the pandemic for the longest time

The report also covers which banks’ mortgage customers are most likely to be stressed, banks’ ongoing response to the pandemic, and customers’ satisfaction with their banks’ response so far, among other topics, ResearchAndMarkets said.