Mortgage repayments (monthly) dollar values (MRED)

Latest release
Census of Population and Housing: Census dictionary
Reference period
2026

Definition

This variable records the amount a household paid in mortgage repayments per month for the dwelling they occupied on Census night.  

Mortgage payments are reported in whole dollars. In some Census products, such as QuickStats, these amounts are grouped into ranges, as defined in the mortgage repayments (monthly) ranges (MRERD). 

Scope

Occupied private dwellings that are owned with a mortgage (including being purchased under a shared equity scheme). 

Categories

CodeCategory
0000 – 9999 $0 – $9,999 or more 
&&&& Not stated 
@@@@ Not applicable 

Number of categories:  10,002 

Not applicable (@@@@) category comprises: 

  • occupied private dwellings with tenure type (TEND) of 'Owned outright', 'Rented', 'Occupied rent free', 'Occupied under a life tenure scheme', 'Other' and 'Not stated' 
  • unoccupied private dwellings 
  • non-private dwellings 
  • migratory, offshore and shipping SA1s 

See Understanding supplementary codes for more information.    

Question(s) from the Census form

Is this dwelling: (please open this section to view response categories)

How much does the household pay for this dwelling?

How this variable is created

This variable is derived from responses to the tenure type and housing cost question. If the response to the tenure type question indicates that the dwelling is owned with a mortgage, the response to the housing cost question is converted into a monthly mortgage repayment amount. The variable is automatically coded from numeric text responses entered on the Census form.

History and changes

The question about monthly mortgage repayments was first included in the 1976 Census.  

In 2026, the labels were updated to include additional detail. The highest category was changed from ‘$9,999’ to ‘$9,999 or more’. 

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