You sold your subdivision ? Congrats..
I too asked for 90%loan and I'd paid $15k for mortgage insurance ~ some said i siao ! Soon my property is going to be converted in SGD @2.75% interest.. heehee.. if this happens, I'll book for a Prado VX diesel
6 mths wait..
Australia is such a kind country.. I've got a house, a 4WD, a backyard and plenty of beers.. can't ask for more.. I am thankful.
My builder got no more new projects on hand....
House prices post largest fall since April 2008
By Chelsea Mes, Money Editor From: news.com.au July 30, 2010 1:00PM
The housing market has entered a period of consolidation, experts say / File
AVERAGE house price values have fallen for the first time in 17 months as interest rate hikes begin to bite.
Prices across the nation's capital cities fell 0.7 per cent, latest research from RP Data shows.
But experts say there is unlikely to be a significant downturn - as constantly predicted by a range of overseas experts - because of a national housing shortage.
In the three months to June, all capital cities experienced virtually no growth or a fall in values, with the exception of Adelaide, the RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Home Value Index has found.
Despite being the largest monthly fall since April 2008, RP Data's Tim Lawless said the result was not surprising.
"We've been seeing the writing on the wall, because we've also seen auction clearance rates deteriorating, we've seen housing finance commitments falling, suggesting demand in the marketplace has been abating," Mr Lawless said.
ANZ economist David Cannington also said the result was expected given the market had undergone so many months of continuous growth.
"While there was a fall in the month, still in annual terms, house prices are still 10.5 per cent higher than what they were a year ago," he said.
Bubble won't burst
The past few months have seen numerous predictions that Australia was experiencing an unprecedented and unsustainable housing bubble.
The Economist magazine earlier this month declared that Australian property had the poorest return on investment of the 20 countries it evaluated and US financial commentator Edward Chancellor estimated Australian house prices were more than 50 per cent above their fair value.
But local experts questioned these assertions, pointing to an undersupply of housing in the country.
Australian Property Monitors estimates there is a shortage of 200,000 dwellings in Australia, which has helped to put a floor under house prices.
ANZ’s Mr Cannington said predictions of a sharp fall in house prices were incorrect.
"We think the underlying fundamentals of the Australian housing market support house price growth, so we don’t think it's going to pop and house prices are going to collapse," he told news.com.au. "The Australian market is entering a period of flat growth or some consolidation.
"I think it's the end of the levels of growth that we saw last year, that's pretty clear, but I don’t expect that we'll see entrenched falls in house prices.
"This is just part of the cycle of coming back from those high growth rates."
Mr Cannington said the slowdown showed the recent round of interest rate increases had impacted housing affordability.
"I don't think (the RBA) wanted to see house prices growing at the rates they were growing at," he said.
RP Data’s Mr Lawless said basic housing market fundamentals remained "relatively healthy".
"If we were seeing mortgage default rates escalating then that would set off some alarm bells," he said.
Quiet market ahead
Mr Lawless said with pre-listing activity slowing down, buyers could expect fewer properties entering the market.
"We may see further declines, we may see some further increases, but it's essentially going to be a flat market going forward," he said.
There would be "more power" returning to buyers in coming months.
"It's more swinging to a buyer's market, because vendors have certainly had the power over the past 18 months or so," he said.
He said the Reserve Bank would be pleased with the result, with homebuyers almost guaranteed to be safe from a rate rise after next Tuesday’s monthly board meeting.
"Concerns about housing affordability and inflation have certainly been top of mind for the RBA," he said.
A weaker than expected inflation result earlier this week, combined with a housing market slowdown, would stave off an August rate rise, he said.
Read more:
http://www.news.com.au/money/proper...08/story-e6frfmd0-1225899002446#ixzz0vAZNPBYz
