a taste of things to come?, page-51

found this today Kincella.

from your neck of the woods.....Melbourne.

And yes have been busy wrioting new business...short term loans.

I think this year could be abusy one from feb onwards.



House sale prices head north, west
Email Printer friendly version Normal font Large font Natalie Craig
January 15, 2009


House prices increased substantially in Melbourne's more affordable outer northern and western suburbs after the first-home buyer's grant doubled in October, according to monitoring agency Residex.

Broadmeadows topped the list, with house sales values up almost 6 per cent in the last three months of 2008 to $269,500. Niddrie ran second, up 4.5 per cent to $571,500, while the first-home buyer's enclave of Caroline Springs grew 4 per cent to $324,500. Sunshine and Albion also made the top five for price growth.

More first-home buyers signed on the dotted line for mortgages in November than in any of the 12 months previous, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data. The confidence sparked in first-home buyers is good news for sellers in affordable suburbs, but could mean inflated prices for buyers.

House sales prices in Hawthorn suffered the worst fall at the end of last year, down 3.88 per cent to $1,206,500, according to the report. Price drops of 2 to 3 per cent were also recorded in Richmond, Toorak, Elsternwick and Brighton as the sharemarket crisis hit the wealthier end of town.