Struggling with your home loan? Welcome to the 27% club
Key takeaways
- New data from Finder's 2026 Home Loan Report finds 27% of Australian borrowers are just scraping by with their home loan repayments, or on the brink.
- 38% are managing their repayments but say they "don't have much wiggle room."
- What's next: The report also found that many borrowers are in "mortgage prison", unable to switch loans.
If you feel like you're struggling with your mortgage repayments, you're part of a pretty big club. 27% of borrowers are either "Just scraping by, scared of an unexpected bill" (24%) or "on the brink of default" (3%).
That's according to Finder's 2026 Home Loan Report, which surveyed hundreds of Australian borrowers and homeowners.
When asked "How would you describe your ability to afford your mortgage repayments?" only 34% said they could comfortably afford their repayments.
38% said "I can afford my mortgage but I don't have much wiggle room."
When broken down by gender, these stats show a stark divide. 40% of men say they're comfortably repaying their home loans versus just 29% of women.
And 30% of women are those just scraping by compared to only 18% of men.
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Read the 2026 Finder Home Loan Report now
Mortgage stress, interest rates and the cost of living crisis
While depressing, these findings are not a major shock. Australian property is expensive, with some cities recording price growth of around 20% in the last 12 months.
While that's all slowing down now, and prices are falling in most major cities, multiple factors have combined to make life very difficult for borrowers at the moment.
Interest rates have risen several times in 2026, and are now at 2-year highs. If the Reserve Bank lifts rates just one more time (and 44% of experts think it will this year), borrowers will be suffering interest rate highs not seen since 2011.
When you consider how much bigger home loans are today versus 2011, higher rates have a massive impact on borrowers.
And there's the wider cost of living crisis. We've seen frequent periods of high inflation since around 2022 onwards. Even today inflation is well above where the Reserve Bank wants it to be (which is why we get rate rises in the first place).
Australian borrowers have to borrow more money with house prices so high, spend more on interest as interest rates rise and have less money to spend on their mortgages because groceries, utilities, fuel and everything else is more expensive too.
Are you struggling to repay your mortgage?
With only 34% of Australians comfortably paying off their mortgages, a lot of us could do with some help.
While a big mortgage can feel like an impossible burden today, there are practical steps borrowers can take to regain some control.
- Review your budget and spending. In a time where living costs keep on rising, it's worth checking back on your spending habits, even if you did that a few months ago. And you can't find ways to cut back until you know where your money is going.
- Shop around for better deals. Even if your home loan feels like an insurmountable problem, you could find savings elsewhere and put those into your mortgage. Switching to cheaper phone and internet plans, insurance policies and gas/electricity plans can net you hundreds in savings each month (and maybe a nice Finder Reward).
- Refinance your home loan. While Finder's Home Loan Report also found that 36% of borrowers are effectively trapped in their current home loans because of rising expenses and interest rates, other borrowers should definitely consider comparing home loans and switching to a lower rate. You could save hundreds of dollars a month, which ends up being thousands of dollars a year.
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