Claims that households have begun to step up the rate at which they are paying back their mortgages do not look well founded. Rather, over the past year or so, repayments of mortgage principal have been far lower than we would have expected given the cuts in interest rates. One implication is that the recent improvement in mortgage arrears may mask a highly fragile underlying picture, in which many households remain very vulnerable to any further shocks.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to gain:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services