aussie credit card debt hits 50 billion, page-8

The average is not that bad. It's the people who are heavily relying on the cards to survive, and may have several maxxed out cards with debt running into the tens of thousands due to mortgage or rental stress and trying to run a growing family that are the problem.

It doesn't take millions to become bankrupt to have an effect on mortgagee sales, it only takes the minority to start damaging prices in an illiquid market like the property market.