RBA's Rate Hike Blind Spot Exposes Homeowners to Financial Risk

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) may be playing a game of financial Russian roulette with homeowners, relying on a statistical blind spot that could trigger another crippling interest rate blow.

Mortgage brokers have criticised the prospect of further rate hikes, arguing the RBA has a flawed understanding of just how far it can push homeowners.

Many struggling households are not showing up as defaults or arrears in official data, even though they're no longer making repayments. Instead, hundreds of thousands are proactively asking their banks for emergency hardship support, which doesn't show up in the headline defaults figures monetary policymakers rely upon.