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A Structural Model of Mortgage Offset Accounts in the Australian Housing Market

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  • James Graham

Abstract

I study a novel institutional feature of Australian housing markets: the widespread use of mortgage offset accounts. These accounts reduce mortgage interest costs and increase the liquidity of mortgage balances. I build a heterogeneous agent life-cycle model of the Australian housing market to study who benefits from these accounts and by how much. Households in middle age, with high incomes, and with more expensive houses are most likely to use offset accounts and derive larger benefits from their use. I show that a social planner could maintain mortgage profitability, improve household welfare, and more evenly distribute benefits by adjusting the price structure of offset accounts.

Suggested Citation

  • James Graham, 2024. "A Structural Model of Mortgage Offset Accounts in the Australian Housing Market," CAMA Working Papers 2024-35, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:een:camaaa:2024-35
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    File URL: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/2025-01/35_2024_graham.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Matthew Chambers & Carlos Garriga & Don E. Schlagenhauf, 2009. "Accounting For Changes In The Homeownership Rate," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 50(3), pages 677-726, August.
    2. Daniel L. Greenwald & Adam Guren, 2025. "Do Credit Conditions Move House Prices?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 115(10), pages 3559-3596, October.
    3. Matt Chambers & Carlos Garriga & Don Schlagenhauf, 2009. "The Loan Structure and Housing Tenure Decisions in an Equilibrium Model of Mortgage Choice," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 12(3), pages 444-468, July.
    4. Daniel L. Greenwald & Adam Guren, 2025. "Do Credit Conditions Move House Prices?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 115(10), pages 3559-3596, October.
    5. James Graham & Avish Sharma, 2024. "Monetary Policy and the Homeownership Rate," Working Papers 2024-11, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    6. Kudrna, George & Woodland, Alan, 2011. "An inter-temporal general equilibrium analysis of the Australian age pension means test," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 61-79, March.
    7. Fiona Price & Benjamin Beckers & Gianni La Cava, 2019. "The Effect of Mortgage Debt on Consumer Spending: Evidence from Household-level Data," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2019-06, Reserve Bank of Australia.
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    Cited by:

    1. James Graham & Avish Sharma, 2024. "Monetary Policy and the Homeownership Rate," CAMA Working Papers 2024-43, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand

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