Holidays the pick for loan-free lives

ONE in four Australians with a home loan are unsure whether they will ever be able to pay it off, a survey has found.

And many are pumping money into mortgages for places they don’t even want to keep living in, the research suggests.

The poll, commissioned by ANZ, found three-quarters of Aussies would take more holidays if they were mortgage-free.

Forty-five per cent said they would do home renovations, while 44 per cent would work less and spend more time with family.

Forty-three per cent would treat themselves to nice things, and one in five said they’d get more sleep.

Some indicated that they would start a business, help their children set up a home, return to study or learn to fly.

The YouGov Galaxy survey, part of an ANZ home loans campaign, last month quizzed 1000 Australians with an existing mortgage. It revealed 24 per cent were uncertain they would ever pay off their loan and own their home outright.

About half believed they would be able to wipe their loan sometime within the next decade, while one quarter felt it would take up to 20 years.

ANZ senior economist Felicity Emmett said mortgage affordability had been improving, helped by falling home prices in Melbourne and Sydney and lower interest rates.

“However, people have taken on debt anticipating that wage growth would bounce back to the sort of rates we saw last decade and it hasn’t been the case,” Ms Emmett said.

Almost half of those polled said they were paying off a loan for a home that they were either indifferent towards, or did not want to have forever.