Often the belt covers areas where homes could be considered more affordable yet the cost of servicing the mortgage loan represents a high proportion of the families' available income.
Changes to cost of servicing a mortgage, seen through interest rate fluctuations, can trigger widespread satisfaction or dissatisfaction towards the government of the day.
In the 2004 federal election, the media played up the narrative the mortgage belt voted highly in favour of the Coalition, in fear that economic management under the Australian Labor Party could increase interest rates.
The Coalition ran a fear campaign on the issue and this became one of the keystones which helped it win a successive fourth term.
Mortgage belt areas played a significant role in the 2007 election, where Labor won back many mortgage belt Liberal strongholds won in the 1996 election due to general disaffection with the incumbent government, as well as high interest rates.