Mortgage holders' confidence sinks to lowest level since 1994

Confidence among households with mortgages has fallen to its lowest level in records going back to 1994. The figures come from Westpac's consumer sentiment index, which sank in November to a four-year low overall (The Guardian).

The same survey found that confidence in the economic outlook over the coming year has dropped to its weakest since August 2020. Households are not expecting much relief soon. Nearly three in four respondents expected another interest rate hike, meaning a rise in the cost of borrowing, over the next 12 months.

That expectation comes after five rate increases earlier in the year. For households carrying home loans, the pessimism in the survey is the weakest it has been since the index's records began.