Modern mortgage holders face worse financial stress than 1990s peak as loan sizes surge

Mortgage repayments in 2026 take a bigger chunk of income than in 1990 when rates were 17 per cent. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers The age old fight of which generation “had it harder” has been debunked by new data that reveals kids these days might not just be having a whinge about their mortgages. Boomers often herald the 1990s as the toughest time in recent history for mortgage holders because the interest rates were at a whopping 17 per cent. New analysis of ABS and Reserve Bank data reveals that it’s actually harder to keep up with repayments in 2026, even though rates are just over a third of what they were in the 1990s. MORE: Wipeout: RBA hit with sombre warning A new 30 year mortgage can swallow most of an average income. MORE: Boomer habit pressures RBA to deliver more pain Peter Drennan led the analysis for Primara Research and found that mortgage holders are paying 15 per cent more of their income to pay off loans that are typically 10 to 13 times larger. “We’ve all heard it from parents, aunts and uncles: ‘It isn’t as tough as it was for us when interest rates were 17 per cent’,” Mr Drennan said. “Except it is, everywhere in the country. “Rates that high didn’t last. Within ...