# Mortgage holders' confidence hits 32-year low

> Australian households' economic confidence crashes to its weakest since 1994 as cost-of-living pressures mount and the year ahead looms.
- Title: Mortgage holders' confidence hits 32-year low · the Guardian
- Summary: Australian households' economic confidence crashes to its weakest since 1994 as cost-of-living pressures mount and the year ahead looms.
- Keywords: westpac, consumer sentiment, mortgage holders, cost of living, reserve bank of australia, jim chalmers, anthony albanese, inflation, interest rates, the Guardian
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/nov/10/mortgage-holders-confidence-crashes-to-lowest-level-since-1994-as-year-that-feels-like-a-recession-looms
- Published: 2026-11-10T05:17:31+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: westpac, consumer sentiment, mortgage holders, cost of living, reserve bank of australia, jim chalmers, anthony albanese, inflation, interest rates, news, world
## Confidence crashes to 32-year low
Westpac's consumer sentiment index sank to a four-year low in November. Confidence among mortgaged households reached its lowest level since 1994, signalling deepening pessimism about the economy.
## Households feel helpless about economy
Matthew Hassan, Westpac's head of economic forecasting, said the mood matched 2022 when inflation ran close to eight percent.
## Comparison to pandemic lockdown mood
Confidence in the economic outlook over the coming year reached its weakest since August 2020, matching the low point during the pandemic.

> There is a similar feeling of helplessness now.
## Indebted households most pessimistic
Indebted households showed the worst pessimism in records stretching back to 1994. The survey revealed that households with mortgages were gloomier still than the general population about economic prospects.
## Year ahead will feel like recession
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock warned that the year ahead would feel like a recession thanks to persistent cost-of-living pressures alongside weak economic growth.

> feel like it's a recession
## Markets signal rate cuts ahead
Financial markets have begun factoring in lower interest rates from mid-2027. The implied probability of a Reserve Bank rate cut was more than fifty percent by August 2027, with a decrease to four point six…
## Chalmers faces pressure on spending
Treasurer Jim Chalmers faces mounting pressure to contain inflation and cost-of-living rises. The government will include cuts to spending in next month's mid-year budget update as pressure mounts to rein in inflation.
## Key takeaway

Mortgage holders' confidence has fallen to its lowest level since 1994 amid persistent cost-of-living pressures, even as financial markets signal a possible rate cut by mid-2027.