A young Australian who spoke out about the fight against rising interest rates has been called out by boomers.
Maddie Walton bought a three-bedroom house worth $690,000 on the Gold Coast with a 10 per cent deposit in August 2021, when Reserve Bank interest rates were at a record low 0.1 per cent.
But since May 2022, thirteen interest rate increases have caused her weekly repayments to increase by more than 81 percent.
“It was quite tough,” she told Daily Mail Australia.
Maddie Walton (pictured) bought a three-bedroom house worth $690,000 on the Gold Coast at the age of 23 with a 10 per cent deposit
‘It’s not something I’ve prepared for, but I have savings and I’m just doing everything I can to increase my income as much as possible.
‘I’ve had to change my lifestyle quite drastically.’
Her words have struck a chord with young Australians who appreciate her speaking out about the challenges of home ownership.
However, she has noticed that older generations often downplay the difficulties she encounters.
“Boomers and retirees, they’re like ‘in my day interest rates were 17 per cent’ and basically trying to debunk your feelings,” she told news.com.au.
“I think that yes, they had a hard time with their times, but we have a hard time too and I don’t really believe that just because one generation had a hard time that the newer generation should have a hard time too.”
She said boomers often say they should have foreseen interest rates rising.
In response, she explained that she was the first in her family to purchase property, so she did not have any prior knowledge to draw on.
Three years later, she talks about the financial problems she has faced since the interest rate hike
She also highlighted that when most boomers bought their first home, the average home price was closer to four times the average wage, while now it is closer to ten times the average wage.
“I think we all go through different things every generation, but I don’t think it’s fair to invalidate how anyone feels and what it’s like for our experiences as Gen Zers and Millennials,” she said.
Ms Walton previously told Daily Mail Australia she was renting out two rooms in her house and the garage so she can afford to pay off the mortgage – and cope with the most severe interest rate rises in a generation.
Mortgage stress is defined as a borrower spending 30 percent or more of their wages (before taxes) on loan repayments, but in her case it’s much worse.
‘I definitely have mortgage stress, it’s about 80 percent of my income.’
Ms. Walton receives mostly positive feedback because she is honest about her problems online, but faces backlash from baby boomers (photo, a message from Ms. Walton)
Ms Walton said she wished she had realized interest rates could rise by four percentage points.
“I was never told anything about that,” she said.
“If I was made aware that, “Hey, your rates could go up two, three percent, maybe four percent” — which they have — “this is what your refunds are going to look like, can you handle that?” ‘
In 2021, former Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe had suggested that rates would remain unchanged until 2024 “at the earliest”, causing rates to rise at the most aggressive pace since 1989.
That took the RBA cash rate rose to a 12-year high of 4.35 per cent, pushing Ms Walton’s variable mortgage rate up from 2.09 per cent to 6.29 per cent.
This has increased her weekly repayments from $550 to almost $1,000.
“You’re just so nervous. Will rates go up again?’
To cope, Ms Walton is now working 70 hours a week to pay off a $630,000 mortgage, which is slightly higher than the average new mortgage in Australia of $607,963 in March.
She also works two jobs, including one as a market researcher doing surveys.
The former medical researcher also no longer goes out and packs lunch to save money.
Ms Walton (pictured) previously told Daily Mail Australia she was renting out two rooms in her house and the garage so she can afford to pay back her mortgage.
For the time being, she rents out the master bedroom and bathroom and sleeps in one of the smaller bedrooms, because she has two roommates who help her pay the mortgage.
‘I share my bathroom, so I’m no longer in the master bedroom with the ensuite; I don’t use my garage anymore,” she said.
“The other people who live with me pay more rent to help.”
That helps raise $625 per week to help pay a larger portion of the weekly mortgage payments.
