Households spending least on mortgages in at least three decades

Mortgage payments are costing households a smaller proportion of their income than at any time in at least 33 years

Mortgage payments are costing households a smaller proportion of their income than at any time in at least 33 years.

New data from the Federal Reserve has shown homeowners spent only 7.9% of their after-tax income on mortgage payments in the second quarter, Reuters has reported. The result compares to 8% last quarter.

Reuters said the proportion of income spent on payments was the lowest in records going back to 1980. Overall debt servicing costs were just above a record low, accounting for 9.9% of afteritax income.