SENATOR DEAN SMITH
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE SHADOW TREASURER
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR THE COST OF LIVING
LIBERAL SENATOR FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA
17 March 2026
RBA RATE HIKE HITS WA MORTGAGE BELT
Today’s decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to lift the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points will place even greater pressure on mortgage-holding families across Western Australia’s fast-growing outer suburbs.
New analysis commissioned by Senator Dean Smith from the Federal Parliamentary Library shows Western Australia features prominently among the suburbs most exposed to rising interest rates, with several Perth communities ranking among the top twenty locations nationally with the highest concentration of households paying a mortgage.
Using the latest ABS Census data*, the analysis identifies the 20 suburbs across Australia where the largest share of homes are owned with a mortgage.
At the top of the list nationally is Strathnairn in the ACT, where 85.4 per cent of homes are owned with a mortgage.
Six Perth suburbs appear in the national top twenty, highlighting just how exposed Western Australia’s mortgage belt is to rising interest rates.
Communities such as Brabham, Piara Waters, Byford, Landsdale, Harrisdale, Aveley and Carramar are home to thousands of young families who bought homes during the recent housing boom and are now bearing the full impact of rising repayments.
Except for Flagstone (West)–New Beith and part of Clyde North–South, every suburb identified sits in a Federal Labor electorate, including several in the WA seats of Burt, Hasluck, Cowan and Pearce.
The Parliamentary Library analysis also tracked changes in mortgage repayments between August 2021 and early 2026, a period largely under the Albanese Government.
In Brabham–Henley Brook, the WA suburb highest on the list, median monthly mortgage repayments increased by $755 between August 2021 and January 2026, rising to $2,856 per month.
With the Reserve Bank lifting the cash rate again today by 0.25 percentage points, repayments will rise further for households already facing significant financial pressure.
The analysis also models the impact of additional increases.
If three further rate rises of 25 basis points occurred, median monthly repayments in Brabham–Henley Brook would reach $3,011 by January 2027 — up $1,061 since August 2021.
Because the Census baseline is from August 2021, the number of households now affected is likely significantly higher, reflecting strong population growth and new housing construction across Perth’s growth corridors.
At the same time Australians are carrying larger mortgages than ever before, with ABS Lending Indicators showing the average home loan rose by $42,000 in the December quarter to $736,000.
Comments attributable to Senator Dean Smith:
“Today’s interest rate rise will hit Western Australian mortgage holders particularly hard.”
“Perth’s outer suburbs are ground zero for mortgage stress, with thousands of families already paying significantly more each month on their home loans.”
“This data shows Western Australia’s mortgage belt is among the most exposed in the country to interest rate rises.”
“The Reserve Bank has made clear inflation pressures remain, and unless the Albanese Government restores fiscal discipline to the Budget, families face the prospect of even higher repayments.”
“For many Western Australian households, each rate rise means hundreds of dollars more every month going to the bank instead of their family budget.”
