http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25217814-2862,00.html
THE average Toorak homeowner owes more than $1 million and makes mortgage repayments of $1515 a week.
Mortgage data provided by Australia's largest mortgage broker, Australian Finance Group, shows the average home loan in Toorak is $1,044,936 - more than four times the state average for established homes.
The first paragraph contains an assertion that does not follow from the second paragraph.
A significant portion of homes are owned outright and have no loan.
The second paragraph gives some figures on average home loans; assumed to be only on homes that have a loan (as mortgage brokers would not know about unencumbered homes).
If half the homes had no loan and half had a loan, the 'average' for Toorak might be nearer $500k (although this assumes that properties with a loan and those without were similar value on average which might not be correct).
Secondly we don't know of the extent to which the debt was used to pay for the house or for house extensions and other consumer items along the way, so it might be misleading to attribute it all to housing in the area.
Thirdly an interesting comparison would be to look at average leverage and equity levels by comparing average mortages with average house prices (noting that the average loan applicant might not necessarily buy the average house in an area).
3030 (Point Cook & Werribee) has an average owing from mortgage holders of $269k. Yet average house prices are in the low 200s for Werribee and maybe $50k or so more for Point Cook.
3196 (Bonbeach etc) has an average owing from mortgage holders of $262k. Yet the average house price of the area is somewhere approaching $400k. However the area has a lot of rental units worth under $300k. I guess these were also counted, although most were IP loans rather than PPOR loans.
Hence 3030, having a lot of first homebuyers in the early stages of their mortgage with low equity and high average LVRs may be in a less sound position than 3196 residents who are older on average and more established with low LVRs (because on average they bought their houses earlier when they were cheaper). However incomes in 3196 aren't that high as there are lots of retired folk, but mostly these are unlikely to be the same people still with mortages.
Other high status postcodes with lowish looking mortgages relative to their prestige/house price include Williamstown ($299k, while inferior Altona is over double that), Moonee Ponds ($283k), Carlton ($224k - probably depressed by investors with student apartments), 3059 ($194k) and 3141/Armadale ($305k - maybe lots of units?).
