Australians have a love affair with real estate. In fact, owning a home (and maybe an investment property or two) is sometimes thought of as the great Aussie dream. A centrepiece of financial planning and fierce dinner table debates across the country, home ownership is synonymous with stability and financial success. Real estate is the largest single purchase most Aussies will ever make in their life.
Because of this, Australians are being more strategic in their approach to real estate investment with recent data indicating a surge in the number of Australians refinancing their mortgages, seeking better deals and looking optimal loan conditions to keep the home ownership dream alive.
In this article, our local Newcastle mortgage brokers look at the most interesting and telling home loan statistics in Australia. Whether you’re looking for details about the average mortgage in Australia, general repayments or which state has the highest average home loan, we’ve got some of the most important stats down below (last updated Jan 2026).
1. 66% of Australian households are homeowners
According to data from the latest census taken in Australia, almost two-thirds of households in Australia are homeowners (66%). Despite the increased cost of ownership relative to incomes in Australia, the rate of homeowners has remained steady since the mid 1970s.
The most recent census was taken in 2021, with the next to happen in August this year.
2. More than a third of Australians have a mortgage
NAB’s 2026 Q1 wellbeing report shows that 33% of Australians have a mortgage at the moment. The biggest age group is 30-49 (where 51% have a mortgage) and the smallest is 65+ (where only 10% have a mortgage).
Home loans are also more common in ‘high income’ earners ($100k+) – where 51% of people have a mortgage compared with just 11% of people who are ‘low income’ earners.
This is in line with the 2021 ABS data that shows 35% of Australians have a home loan and 32% own a property with no remaining mortgage to pay off.
3. The average monthly mortgage repayment in Australia is $4,613
According to Canstar, the average monthly mortgage repayment in Australia is $4,613 (May 2026) – up around $500 since the start of the year. This works out to roughly $1065.38 a week or $55,356 a year. Of course, pushed by high house prices in Sydney, the average monthly repayments were highest in NSW ($5,472).
Queensland came in second with $4,613 while the Northern Territory ($3.228) and Tasmania ($3.159) were the lowest.
4. 60% of home loans in Australia are taken out by couples
It should come as no surprise that the majority of home loans that are taken out in Australia are taken out by couples. Combined earning potential and more borrowing power with lenders means that couples account for the highest number of mortgages in Australia at 60%.
5. The average mortgage in Australia is $736,000
According to ABS data from December 2025, the average mortgage size in Australia is $736k – a number that continues to climb. This is up more than $40,000 from the previous quarter.
6. NSW has the highest average mortgage at $873k
New South Wales isn’t just the biggest state in Australia – it’s also (by the numbers) the most expensive to live and own a house. According to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average loan size in NSW as of December 2025 is $873,000 – a rise of $55k from September 2025 when the average mortgage was $828,000.
7. Tasmania has the lowest average mortgage size in Australia
At the start of 2026, the Northern Territory had the lowest average mortgage size in Australia at $481,000 – an incredible $347,000 less than the average in NSW. But in May, things have changed. NT mortgages have jumped up to $515,000 while the average mortgage in Tasmania sits at $504,000.
That’s a $20k increase since January in Tassie, which is a smaller jump than the other states.
8. The average interest rate on a home loan in Australia is 6%
According to the RBA, the average interest rate in Australia for new variable loans sits at 6% as of March 2026. It was 5.5% at the end of 2025, but RBA rate hikes this year have seen the numbers go up.
9. The most common length of a home loan in Australia is 30 years
Almost all home loans in Australia are taken out for 25 or 30 years. This gives applicants the biggest borrowing capacity, but also increases the interest paid over the term of the loan. Some owners may opt for shorter loan periods if they have the financial capacity to handle higher monthly repayments, while others may look to stretch this loan term to reduce monthly financial pressures at the cost of a longer repayment term.
Read more: See how the length of your loan impacts your overall repayments.
10. The average first home buyer deposit in Australia is $135,589
A report from Finder shows that the average deposit for a first-time buyer in 2025 was just north of $135k. With the expanded first home buyer now in place, it’s likely that this figure will come down significantly in 2026.
11. More than half of the average household’s wealth is held in housing
Cotality’s May 2026 report shows that 55.8% of the average Australian household’s wealth lies in their housing.
12. Refinancing numbers continue to climb amidst interest rate hikes
At the tail end of 2024, ABS that refinancing for home loans had risen by 2.1% but despite this uptick refinancing rates were still lower than at the same time in 2023. However, with RBA expected to announce rate cuts in 2025, there’s a feeling this may inspire homeowners to look at refinancing as a way to chase the best rates available. Refinancing allows homeowners to secure potentially lower interest rates, improved loan terms, or consolidate their debt in an effort to ease the financial stress of home ownership in Australia.
13. The average home loan balance sits at $350k
Data from NAB’s wellbeing survey shows that the average debt on a home loan in Australia is $349,410 in Q2 2025. This is slightly lower for investment loans ($337,537).
For both loan types, the average debt has increased around $10k in the six months from Q4 2024.
The highest home loan debt was for people aged 30-49 ($425k) and men owe more than women ($364k vs $336k).
14. Australians have a combined mortgage of $2.6 trillion
As of May 2026, the outstanding mortgage debt in the country is $2.6 trillion – $2,600,000,000,000 (RP Data/Cotality). With a 6% rate, we’d accrue $156,000,000,000 interest this month.
15. 82% of home loans in Australia are used to buy a house
According to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 82% of home loans in Australia were used to purchase a dwelling. While it may seem obvious, there are other reasons that borrowers may look to take out a home loan including renovating, investing and consolidating other debts. According to the ABS data, 75% of borrowers were taking home loans with the intention of living in the dwelling.
(Article originally posted in 2024, last updated in May 2026.)
