Key graphs - household debt
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By mid-2006 the outstanding debt of households had increased around five times
in dollar terms since 1990, more than doubling as a percentage of
households' disposable income. Weighted average interest rates however
had fallen from over 15% to about 8.5% per annum (over 90% of household debt
is housing debt, at an average rate of around 8%). Interest servicing of the
increased debt, as a percentage of incomes, was about a third higher than in
1990. At current levels, the ratio of household debt to income
(excluding student loans) is similar to those found in Australia, the UK and
USA. Data are available in Excel by selecting the " Download data" link. Note that these data are quarterly. They are updated early in the second month after the quarter and debt values are grossed up from table C6 (all loans to households are surveyed at December, with the annual December total around 2% higher than surveyed monthly C6 total household debt).
Debt data and disposable income are revised on publication of December data.
Using Statistics New Zealand's household income and outlay account for the year to the previous March, the Bank adds back to disposable income fixed capital consumption and household interest payable. It uses December Monetary Policy Statement projections of the growth of disposable income to project the disposable income denominator in the debt ratio for the following year.
Last updated 27 May 2008 Note: On 8 May Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) revised the National Accounts for the year ended March 2006. Accordingly, the household income and outlay account (HIO) was updated and revised. The RBNZ's household disposable income denominator for calculations of ratios such as household debt to income and debt servicing is based on the HIO. The RBNZ release on 11 May of its Key Graph of these ratios to March 2007 incorporates the HIO revisions. Prior to the revision , the December 2006 household debt to income ratio, for example, was 160 percent: it is now 155 percent. All previous quarters' Key Graph debt ratios have been revised downwards, to a lesser extent.
Household debt, interest rate and servicing data are revised annually in the second quarter of the year. |
