Mortgage payments `falling in priority`

A new survey has challenged the long-held view that mortgage repayments were always
a No.1 priority, with about one third of respondents saying they'd skip a repayment
in order to pay all their bills.
Dun & Bradstreet's (D&B) Payment Priorities Study found 31 per cent Australians with
a home mortgage said they would be prepared to skip a loan repayment if they did not
have enough money to pay all their bills.
D&B chief executive Christine Christian said the survey results challenged the view
that mortgage repayments were always the number one priority.
Ms Christian said the economic slowdown had forced households to focus on the
absolute essentials even if that was at the expense of their mortgage.
"Australians consider mobile phones and utilities as daily essentials and will
strive to pay these bills when they fall due," Ms Christian said in a statement.
"While the mortgage is considered extremely important, the study finds that when
push comes to shove Australians are prepared to miss a payment to ensure they have
free cash for their daily essentials."
Seven per cent of respondents with a mortgage said they had made at least one late
home loan repayment in the past 12 months.
Beyond mortgages, 41 per cent of those surveyed admitted they paid at least one bill
late in the past 12 months.
In terms of early payment, 60 per cent of respondents said they were more likely to
pay a bill before the due date if it helped improve their credit profile.
Moreover, 57 per cent said they would be more likely to pay a bill on time if they
were made aware that late payment would be listed on their credit report.
"The study sends some clear messages to business on how to improve their chances of
getting paid on time," Ms Christian said.
"Listing delinquent payments on a credit report and making the customer aware this
will occur is a clear motivator for bill payment," Ms Christian said.
Ms Christian said the federal government could help improve bill payments if it
allowed credit reports to record additional pieces of information as part of its
reforms to credit reporting laws.
The online survey of 1205 adults aged between 18-64 was conducted by Newspoll last
month.