THE mortgage debt of first-home buyers has more than doubled in the past decade.

The snapshot of social trends paints a stark picture of the growing pressures facing hundreds of thousands of people who have recently taken out their first home loan.

The pressures are so great that the number of renters aged 35 to 45 has grown by five percentage points to 32 per cent as they steer clear of home ownership. Single male renters in that age bracket have swelled by 15 percentage points to 59 per cent over the same period.

In 1995-96 average mortgage debt for recent first-home buyers was $105,400. It had jumped to $310,000 by 2005-06.

While average weekly rents across Australia rose from $190 to $224 in the decade to 2005-06, the bureau said it was easily offset by higher wages.

Jano Gibson