...Booming Australian Housing Market Hides Mortgage Delinquencies Fitch Ratings believes the surging housing market is a key factor in limiting delinquency rates at regional levels. However, we see such house-price appreciation as having only a temporary impact on delinquencies, and regions characterised by low-socio-economic variables or housing speculation may experience a return to historical levels over the long term. Regions located west and south-west of Sydney (eg Fairfield-Liverpool, Blacktown) or north-west of Melbourne (eg Hume, Melton) have historically been sensitive to mortgage rates and the cost of living, due to socio-economic factors like low income and high unemployment. However, local housing market dynamics have meant a diverging trend in mortgage performance between these regions in Sydney and those in Melbourne during the 12-24 months to March 2015. As of March 2015, Fairfield-Liverpool recorded a 90+ days delinquency rate of 0.37%, well below the record high of 1.8% in...
