realistic expectations, page-26

Elfy, your observations about Darwin are incorrect.

The factors moving the market and sustaining high prices are structural and policy issues in nature.

The cost of work in Darwin is significantly higher than elsewhere, not just because of the climate, but the design criteria. That feeds into starting prices for new construction well above the norm.

On a policy front, the Commonwealth (through defence - including border defence - and the intervention into indigenous communities) employs a signficant proportion who have access to provided accomodation - driving construction and investment through the DHA (Defence Housing Austraia).

Significantly, the Territory Government failed to release sufficient land during the early part of the 2000's to cope with increased population growth due to private investment in the resource industry (causing price rises just like in WA), and particularly in responding to the investment coming from the emerging gas industry.

Also, it increased the number of public sector workers significantly, as Labor governments are wont to do.

The Labor government sees equity in homes as a natural way of creating wealth and deliberately created the situation where prices rose about 200% between 2001 and 2009

Prices peaked in 2009 driven by an oversupply in new unit construction as occupancy rates fell below 3% and since then the market has recently corrected about 10%, along with a drop in workers by 3000, including redeployment of half of the 5/7 RAR Battalion.

While there is some pause as construction spending has dropped to about a third what it was, there is still a structural problem with land release, and there are significant spending commitments in the pipeline including expanded Commonwealth facilities for detainees and a recent announcement about a permanent US Marine presence of around 2500 (and a visit by Barack Obama) .

On the resources front, the next phase of investment is about to kick off, and the INPEX Icythys project is expected to deliver a billion dollar investment and 5000 jobs during construction.

So, prices in Darwin have nothing to do with Asia at all, but home grown issues.