Thousands of Australian mortgages propped up by virus benefits


CBA, which has a quarter of Australian home loans, said it had deferrals currently on about 135,000 mortgages, or 8% of its book. Of those deferred loans, 14% involved borrowers receiving JobSeeker benefits and nearly half that number had no other income earner to help service it.

SYDNEY: Nearly 20,000 Commonwealth Bank of Australia mortgages are held by people receiving jobless benefits due to COVID-19, raising concerns for the economy of possible forced property sales and sharp house price declines once support runs out.

The data, released by the country's biggest bank along with its annual profit announcement on Wednesday, shows Australia's A$7.2 trillion housing market is being propped up by temporary relief payments for people left jobless by shutdowns to stop the virus spreading.

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