Menta, you are quite right - the trend is your friend until the end of the trend - 'Property values fall in December'
Quote:
Australias capital cities saw near across-the-board price declines thanks to interest rate rises and declining confidence.
Australias property market is stumbling in the face of rising interest rates and weakening consumer confidence, with house prices dropping in almost every capital city in December.
The near across-the-board decline caused the national median house value to fall 1.1 per cent to $444,000, according to the latest figures from analysts Residex.
It marks the worst performance for the market since the global financial crisis, when Australian house values dropped 1.15 per cent in January 2009.
The data has tracked a fall in house values in every capital city, except for Brisbane:
The performance for units was comparatively better, with the national value dropping 0.54 per cent to $399,500. Falls were also posted in four of the eight cities:
Residex chief executive John Edwards said market confidence had been hit by rising interest rates and growing negative sentiment about the state of the property sector.
The Reserve Banks interest rate rises was just too much, too soon. The commercial banks adding more on top has accelerated that.
But Mr Edwards also cautioned that December is traditionally a period of high volatility for the market due to the interruption in activity caused by the Christmas holidays.
Were not really going to know until the end of January whether this is a really serious indicator of a pending correction.
