Kingston has recorded the biggest quarterly jump in mortgage stress of any postcode in Australia, with the number of stressed households surging 304% in just three months.
The suburb’s figure rose from 525 households to 2,123 during the second quarter of 2026, according to the latest OurTop10 Mortgage Stress Report, compiled by Digital Finance Analytics.
The report measures mortgage stress by comparing household cash flow, with households considered stressed when regular expenses, including mortgage repayments, exceed monthly income.
That increase was almost three times the rise recorded in the next fastest-growing postcode, Canning Vale in Perth at 105%.
Kingston has been a major growth area in Hobart’s south, with significant residential development over the past decade.
PropTrack data shows Kingston’s median house price is now about $775,500.
OurTop10 director Mansour Soltani said the Kingston result stood out nationally.
“When the number of households in mortgage stress more than quadruples in a single quarter, it tells us financial pressure is building much faster than household budgets can adjust,” he said.
“Tasmania has traditionally been viewed as one of Australia’s more affordable housing markets, but affordability only protects borrowers up to a point.”
“Higher mortgage repayments, rising living costs and larger home loans are combining to place increasing pressure on households.”
The report estimates 3,431 households were added to the mortgage stress count across Tasmania’s 10 hardest-hit postcodes during the quarter, bringing the total number of stressed households in those areas to 18,870.
Nine of the 10 postcodes recorded worsening conditions.
The mortgage stress figures come amid ongoing concerns about housing affordability in Tasmania, where rents, house prices and cost-of-living pressures have all increased sharply in recent years.
Many borrowers have also faced higher repayments as fixed-rate loans secured during the low-interest-rate period have rolled onto higher variable rates.
The pressure is not confined to greater Hobart.
New Norfolk recorded Tasmania’s second-largest increase at 33%, followed by Launceston suburb Newnham at 18%.
The report draws on a rolling survey of around 52,000 households to rank Australia’s 80 most mortgage-stressed postcodes.
