Repossessions heading for record high in WA
Rhianna King
April 26, 2012





The figures proved many households in WA are struggling, the Community Housing Coalition of WA says.   

Property repossessions in WA are on track to reach record levels, according to new figures released by the Supreme Court.

In the first three months of this year 353 civil property applications were lodged with the court - up from 321 in the same quarter last year.

The Community Housing Coalition of WA says the figures prove many households are continuing to struggle despite the state's low unemployment and healthy economy.   


Repossessions peaked at 1342 in 2008/09, at the height of the global financial crisis, and appear to be on the rise after declining to 966 in 2009/10.

Community Housing Coalition of WA executive officer Barry Doyle said WA was on track to record 1533 repossessions this year, which would be a new high for the state.

"The upward trend in repossessions should set alarm bells ringing in Parliament House," Mr Doyle said.

"What these figures demonstrate is that an increasing number of home owners are struggling to balance mortgage payments and other household expenses."

"They are extremely vulnerable to factors such as interest rate increases and hikes in the cost of petrol and household utilities. Property repossession orders show us who has gone over the edge; it's likely than many more are hanging on by their fingertips."

He said high rates of civil property repossession were indicative of high levels of mortgage stress in the community.   

"We must also have a long hard look at bank lending practices in WA. Certain households have acquired levels of mortgage and personal debt which push the boundaries of sensible lending and the upward trend in repossession orders is evidence of that," he said.

The figures come just days after fresh data showed WA was in a class of its own when it comes to the national economy.

CommSec's State of the States report showed that WA was clearly Australia's best performing economy.

But this prompted calls from both the government and state opposition that WA's citizens should be seeing more benefits.

Opposition spokesman for treasury Ben Wyatt said the government needed to ensure that the proceeds of the strong economy were distributed fairly to WA citizens.

He said the positive economic results proved there were no excuses to cut front line services in the state.

Homeowners are hoping the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates when it meets next Tuesday.

comments so far

        Ooooh! Looks like some great opportunities coming up to purchase some cheap investment properties. Yay!

    Commenter
        Good to be King
    Location
        WA
    Date and time
        April 26

        I just goes to show, and what really should be said here is that the Governments of this country and property spruikers continue to push is home ownership.
        Many of these people have been blindsided into believing everyone is entitled to own their own home, when the real truth is that this is not an entitlement and many people will go through life as renters.
        As harsh as this may sound, it's not as harsh as being kicked out of a place many in the mainstream said could be yours, for as little as....... now is the time to buy........ make the most of the governments bribe (grant)......property will always go up!!!!!!! Its all Rubbish.   

    Commenter
        Hootz4you
    Location
        Perth
    Date and time
        April 26, 2012

            It's a sad state of affairs (and greed) when every human born on this earth is not entitled to have their own patch of land to lay their head.   

        Commenter
            lghulm
        Location
        Date and time
            April 26, 2012, 9:45AM

        maybe people need to look at their budget , how they chose a house, how much they borrow and how they spend on other things such as iphones, pubs and pokies. Let them go broke, these are the people that push housing prices up by offering more than they can afford. bring it on.

    Commenter
        choppy
    Location
    Date and time
        April 26, 2012

        Every one I speak to is struggling in WA so we all know its not booming.

        What we need to know is what percentage of the closures are simply due to a divorce or some other reason other than the economy.   

    Commenter
        Mark
    Location
        Perth
    Date and time
        April 26, 2012, 11:04AM

        Another indicator it's not all Roses IN WA an some would like you to believe only a very few benefit from resources -Time to wake up - we pay more for everything here as we are all supposed to have extra in our pockets because of mining.   

    Commenter
        RonaldR
    Location
        Cockburn Central
    Date and time
        April 26, 2012


Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/repossessions-heading-for-record-high-in-wa-20120425-1xkr6.html#ixzz1t7RIeBiO

Sir Spot of Borg wrote on Apr 26^th, 2012 at 3:36pm:



Not really supported by facts. 



If a 2% increase will drive you to the wall, you've bitten off more than you can chew.

Free will, n all that.