Contributing to this better outcome in Australia was the fact that the deterioration in lending standards was not as severe or as widespread as in some other countries. Also, household incomes have continued to grow solidly, in the context of a strong economy and low unemployment.
2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Graph 3 Banks’ Non-performing Housing Loans* Per cent of outstandings  However, within this overall picture of resilience, there are, as always, pockets of housing stress. In the early part of last decade, those pockets were heavily concentrated around the south-west parts of Sydney.