Thursday, Aug 16, 2007

Sydney house prices fall

Sydney Morning Herald: Prices fall, but no joy for renters

When will they start calling it a house price crash? Sydney's average house prices fell 5.7 per cent in the last quarter. Some areas, like the upmarket Eastern suburb of Woollahra, have dropped by 18.8 percent since last year!

Australia has been buoyed by a resources boom and low unemployment in recent years yet house prices are falling. Interest rates aren't that much higher than in the UK, with a base rate of 6.5 per cent yet repossessions are up. Perhaps this is what is in store for the ridiculously inflated UK housing market?

Posted by koala bear @ 08:48 AM (211 views) Add Comment

7 Comments

1. maddison said...

The mortgage market is much less competitive and you start paying about 7-8% interest right from the start. Also stamp duty is much higher at 5%. Australians are also heavily in debt like the UK with 20% of net earnings going on a mortgage. Another thing is that supply is easier to come by as they have a bit more land!

Thursday, August 16, 2007 09:28AM Report Comment
 

2. Vinchenzo said...

There is obviously an error in this article, afterall house prices only go up. Somebody should call them.

Thursday, August 16, 2007 09:45AM Report Comment
 

3. Tickock said...

The UK has plenty of Land, its just off limits to 95% of the population. The people are crammed into a very small living area indeed.

Land shortage is not the problem, Land ownership (and thus availability) is. But we don't talk about this.

But still, don't be fooled by those who would wish to divert the arguement from this fact. Make no mistake, there is plenty of Land.

Thursday, August 16, 2007 10:05AM Report Comment
 

4. Benjamiah said...

maddison - ill informed
mortgage market is highly competive, 7-8% is correct, stamp duty is about 3-5 depending on size, ozzies are much more in debt (net) then 20%- try 30+ - there is lots of land but not much usable or "wantable" there is a severe land shortage here - unless you want to live in the desert - 1 hour inland anyware in oz is a different climate all together, that means most of the good stuff is built on - in UK - the climate is same everythere - crap

Thursday, August 16, 2007 10:24AM Report Comment
 

5. planning4acrash said...

Its nothing to do with Land, Australia is the bigger than Europe with 20m people compared to around 400m. Planning in Australia is LAX, you just get a plot, subdivide it, and build to a standard plot ratio, and hey presto. With Australia borrowing as much, you see that it is ALL about the money supply.

Thursday, August 16, 2007 01:00PM Report Comment
 

6. Still-waiting said...

Well said, Tickock.

Thursday, August 16, 2007 02:34PM Report Comment
 

7. david20040_0 said...

Australia should not have boomed this much, most of the place is empty.

Thursday, August 16, 2007 05:16PM Report Comment
 

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