https://www.rba.gov.au/speeches/2019/sp-ag-2019-03-20.html  2/14  3/20/2019  Property, Debt and Financial Stability | Speeches | RBA  Graph 1  I have talked previously about some of the reasons why the debt-to-income ratio has risen so much over the past few decades. [3] In particular, a structural decline in the level of nominal interest rates and deregulation have eased credit constraints and increased loan serviceability.
And as households have been able to borrow more, they have been able to pay more for housing. One important driver of high household debt in Australia is, therefore, housing. There is very little debt related to nonhousing loans such as credit cards or car loans.