Banking Day

Each quarter the Reserve Bank of Australia publishes ratios of household finances which include the ratio of household debt to disposable income. The latest data to March 2016 shows that the typical level of housing debt is 135 per cent higher than household disposable income. The current ratio is a record-high but it is important to remember that it is a national snapshot and conditions across different housing markets are likely to vary substantially. Since the current phase of growth in home values commenced in the June 2012 quarter, this ratio has lifted from 119 per cent. While the ratio of housing debt to disposable income has increased and is at a record-high, the ratio of housing assets to disposable income has also risen as home values have increased. In the June 2012 quarter, the typical value of household assets was 394 per cent higher than household disposable income. By March 2016, the ratio had increased to 471 per cent indicating a significant increase in the value housing assets.Again, it should be remembered that this is a national measure and local market ratios are likely to be vastly different especially within areas of very little value growth over that time as well as those areas in which home values have fallen.

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Household assets to income ratio 471%

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