A long-standing generational myth has been mathematically debunked by new analysis from KPMG, which shows that households are under greater mortgage pressure now than during the legendary interest spike of the late 1980s.The financial services company looked at historical Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data and found households are now facing one of the heaviest interest burdens on record — experiencing tougher conditions than when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cash rate reached 17.5 per cent in 1989.Interest payments on debt as a percentage of household income reached a peak of 5.7 per cent during the 1989-1990 inflation spike He told SBS News that, while 5.9 per cent may not sound like much, it is derived from the roughly 35 per cent of the population who have a mortgage — a much higher proportion than in the '80s.While there are more people with a mortgage today, Australia is a much wealthier, much higher-income country as well, Phillips said."Living standards are much higher, so we can wear higher repayments," he said.Households in Victoria are paying the highest interest repayments as a proportion of household income in the country, at 6.9 per cent.Rawnsley explained that improved housing affordability over the past five years has actually left Victorian homeowners more exposed