The Australians buying their first home later and retiring with a mortgage | The Business | ABC News

New data has revealed more Australians are reaching retirement age with a mortgage. Data provided to the ABC by Digital Finance Analytics, from a survey of 52,000 people, found the number of older Australians with a home loan who planned to retire but changed their minds, doubled in the year to September. The average loan balance in this group was about $190,000, but some owe up to half a million dollars. Homeowner Linda Thoresen is less than a year away from retiring, but still owes $170,000 on her mortgage on her home in Perth. She says she bought her house in her 40s, and she's not alone. Data from mortgage broker Lendi shows the number of first-home buyers over 37 years old has increased by 16% over the past 4 years. Mel Smith from Lendi says banks are paying more attention to exit strategies of their customers - whether that's working to have their mortgage paid down, or a plan to downsize or relocate to somewhere more affordable late in life. Data by Digital Finance Analytics suggests about three-quarters of retirees had less in superannuation than they owed on their mortgage, and more than 50 per cent of 55 to 65-year-olds expect to sell their property or use their superannuation to repay their mortgage. Census data shows over the past 20 years, the number of Australians aged 55-64, who own their homes outright has almost halved.
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