10 worst Aussie postcodes for mortgage arrears

NSW’s Broken Hill has the highest mortgage arrears in the country followed by Queensland’s Armstrong Beach, South Australia’s Currency Creek and Butler in Western Australia, according to S&P.

“Mortgage delinquencies in regional areas traditionally have outpaced metropolitan areas,” the latest report said.

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“This often has been the case because regional centres are more vulnerable to a downturn.”

Erin Kitson, an analyst for S&P, says that mining and manufacturing regions, especially those in Queensland and Victoria, are struggling due to job losses.

The Australian also noted that Geelong was experiencing a sharp increase in mortgage arrears rate due to job losses.

State	Suburb	Loans in arrears (%)
NSW	Broken Hill	8
QLD	Armstrong Beach	7
SA	Currency Creek	5
WA	Butler	5
QLD	Bucasia	4
QLD	Blenheim	4
WA	Maddington	4
QLD	Emerald	4
TAS	Dowsing Point	4
QLD	Alexandra	4

“The non-metropolitan regions of Australia tend to have economies which are less diverse compared to metropolitan areas, which means if you lose your job in Wide Bay there are going to be less opportunities than if you lost your job in Sydney or Melbourne.”

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The number of regional homeowners in arrears has increased by 18% in the past year compared with only 2 percent for metropolitan mortgagees.

The percentages of loans in arrears in the most affected postcodes are 8.27 percent in Broken Hill, 7.42 percent in Armstrong Beach, 5.44 percent in Currency Creek, and 5.43 percent in Butler.