Mortgage delinquencies in May at highest since March 2020

The number past due in May was up 34% on a year ago.

“Adding to this, new mortgage lending was down 27% year-on-year, as the real estate sector continues to grapple with a downturn in activity,” says Centrix managing director Keith McLaughlin.

The arrears come in an evirnonment in which $177.58 billion of fixed-rate mortgages, 51% of all mortgages, will roll off a fixed-term rate in less than a year from the end of May, according to Reserve Bank data.

McLaughlin says “there's no question some Kiwi households and businesses are walking an economic tightrope,” adding that home owners are contending with rising mortgage interest rates. RBNZ has raised its official cash rate from 0.25% to 5.5% since October 2021 and will review its settings again on July 12, although it said on May 24 it was likely done hiking.

Actual applications for mortgages were down 3.4% in May on the same month a year earlier, Centrix data showed.

The area with the highest mortgage arrears was Opotiki at 2.83%, followed by Hauraki with 2.72% and the Far North with 2.67%, while the area with the lowest arrears level was Wellington City at 0.79%, followed by Selwyn at 0.91% and Hamilton with 1%.

Centrix's data comes from 82 organisations including registered banks, finance companies, utilities, telcos and other businesses.