Households have seen significant gains from the various fiscal packages as well as declining petrol prices. For indebted households, there has been a very large reduction in debt servicing costs as a result of easier monetary policy.
Arrears rates on housing loans in Australia have typically been lower than those in the United States, despite the higher ratio of house prices to income. There are a couple of reasons why Australian households seem to be able to sustain a higher ratio of house prices to incomes.