Today’s ABS lending figures contain some good news for the health of financial markets, and a partial vindication of the RBA’s interest rate strategy.
Housing market
NAB data has RBA humming a rate rise tune
Buried in yesterday’s very upbeat business confidence and conditions survey from the National Australia Bank was a surprisingly negative forecast on house prices for 2010.
It’s the leverage, stupid
Steve Keen may have lost his bet with Rory Robertson on house prices, but he’s still right on the fundamentals, he argues: the crisis would have occurred long ago and been far less severe if governments and central banks hadn’t attempted to rescue the system from its own follies.
Gottliebsen: The Australian dream is over
Yesterday’s rate rise, coupled with recent changed to Australia’s superannuation policy, locks us into a nation-changing situation: we will soon be a nation of renters, says Robert Gottliebsen.
Aussies, it seems, under Mr Market’s intoxicating spell
The ABS, Australian Property Monitors and RP Data are all indicating that Australian residential property prices are nearing or exceeding record levels, spurred by continued use of debt by many buyers to fund the great Australian dream.
What do the Chinese know about investing in property?
Apparently, the Chinese, not always known for their investing expertise have been “single-handedly been responsible” for Melbourne’s recent home price inflation — at least according to one real estate agent.
The real estate spinners who are artificially inflating prices
Despite its ubiquity, residential property remains one of the least transparent asset classes in Australia. Most buyers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an asset which they know very little about.
How to stop houses being so damn expensive
Australia needs a solution to its rising house prices, which have jumped dramatically thanks to the laws of supply and demand, writes Tom Elliot. Is reducing immigration the answer?
Keen on Keane: the great population overhang story
On Monday, Bernard Keane took economist Steve Keen to task over his call that property prices will fall next year. Today, Keen has his right of reply.
Great Australian dream still sucking them in
The latest housing finance figures confirm there’s still solid demand for housing finance from investors and owner-occupiers.
When herds collide on the yellow brick road
2010 is shaping as the year that the bulls and bears of the world’s last unpopped asset market bubble — Australia’s property market — will collide head on, writes Steve Keen.
Foreign buyers blow out the housing bubble
The causes of Australia’s ever-inflating housing bubble are many but one hasn’t received a lot of attention: the influence of overseas buyers since the government relaxed its foreign property investment rules.
The murky world of buyer’s advocates
The rise of buyer’s advocates has coincided with the continued inflation of Australia’s residential housing bubble. Why is this happening?
Housing: the market continues to astound
The most obvious problem with the first-home-owner’s grant is that it doesn’t actually benefit home buyers, since most recipients of the grant will probably be in competition with each other.
Everything’s distorted from inside this housing bubble
During a bubble lots of things appear to make sense which in hindsight, are ludicrous. Like, median housing prices that are so high they are double US housing prices.
Loans for existing homes on the up and up
On a first look the latest housing finance figures suggest that the first home buyer rush may be exhausting itself. But don’t get carried away by the numbers.
Housing is overpriced, Swan is making it so
As a treasurer, Wayne Swan makes a fine politician. In a free-market economy, it is not the role of the government to prop up over-priced assets — especially an asset as critical to millions of Australians as housing, says Adam Schwab.
Cage match 2: Steve Keen weighs in on house prices
Economist Steve Keen weighs-in on yesterday’s housing-price cage match, defending a “historical analogy” he made suggesting house prices might fall.
Australian property prices: will the bubble burst?
Will debt deleveraging lead to a collapse in property prices, as it has done in the US? Probably not, says Stubborn Mule: just calling it a ‘bubble’ doesn’t necessarily mean it will burst.
Political snippets: A little red warning light on Stern Hu
The presumed innocence of Stern Hu and the return of the residential investor.
Are we paying too much for the Australian dream?
In one of the more remarkable occurrences, residential property, despite macroeconomic indicators to the contrary, has been an incredibly resilient asset class this year. But that can’t last, argues Adam Schwab.
Business lending slumps, so CBA and others turn to housing
Banks will move to make money from housing while they can, writes Glenn Dyer.
Political snippets: Ugly Australian “curry bashers”
“Curry bashing” retains the headlines in India, enhanced by an abusive Australian air passenger, while the housing construction kick along continues.
The FHOG: a band-aid over a gaping wound
The latest RP Data-Rismark property survey has unleashed a predictable bout of optimism regarding the future of the Australian property market.
Rudd persists with first home buyers furphy
The First Home Owners’ Grant is a policy which significantly inflates the cost of property for first home buyers, and mostly benefits wealthy property investors and developers.
