G'day Kincella. It fairness it was actually contained in the...

G'day Kincella. It fairness it was actually contained in the original post.Do browse the forum occaisonally as is an area I love and have a passion for. Seems a silly forum in some sense really by commenting daily on house price movements. Guess I am one of the rare few who are on your side when it comes to property creating wealth over time, especially in Australia. I acknowledge the bears though as it has been a tough 4-5 years across most markets (i am in WA) the prior 4-5 dictated that. It does seem that many have the vision that seems to dicate the sharemarket of late, and that is, short term. Asking to quote yearly gains is not in the spirit of this investment vehicle, imo.A generation minimum to realise spectacular returns, .Speaking to many older propery investors/owners many who are retiring or semi-retired and have done extremely well through property, much to my chagrin, it becomes the only advantage they have over me is TIME! At times, I'm sure when they were purchasing property in the past people would have said they were mad and be careful, those are the ones waiting on fortnightly pensions unfortunately. Times are not great atm but if you can AFFORD to hold, which is what most the debate should be centred on here, imo, especially how we live and work here in Australia, it will be a worthwhile investment and lead to comfortable retirement and family security, imo. It is what we are all trying to achieve isn't it? I do wonder why there are arguements in here and why people want property to plunge? Well obviously so it becomes more affordable for them and their families, and I can respect that because our beliefs here in Aus is that everyone should be able to have their own HOME, even our govt who have principle place of residence tax free, and is paramount the inevitability that prices will steadily rise through time, imo. So when those properties become more affordable, and probably more so through wage growth than price falls currently, imo, and the bears get thier part of the Australian dream is it okay then for prices to rise? Seriously though wish all the best to the property owners and future property owners on here because as they say in the Castle: "A man's home is his castle. It's not a house it's a home". We all deserve this home and although some need it to be more affordable to get one some are already housing their loved ones in one. The balance will be found hopefully, imo, peacefully because its the Australian way and the Australian dream, we will fight like buggery to keep 'em.

Also this recently in WA:

Updated May 31, 2012 18:17:16

Building approvals have slumped in April but the Government says that is a one-off.

Related Story: Figures show a jump in housing sales
Map: Perth

There has been a slump in building approvals in WA with figures showing a drop of 46.7 per cent in April.

The Opposition Leader Mark McGowan has described the decline as catastrophic.

He says the drop is due to changes to the Building Act which came into effect at the start of last month.

Mr McGowan says councils are interpreting the new law as requiring each step in the approvals process to occur consecutively.

"So, in other words, it extends the entirety of the period that the approval is in the council," he said.

"This will have a catastrophic impact on employment, it will mean the cost of rent goes up, it will mean our whole economy slows down."

The WA Housing Minister Troy Buswell is confident the drop in approvals will be a one-off.

He says a decline for the first month of the new legislation was to be expected.

"There was always going to be a one off impact from the change to the Act, certainly that's what we've seen, that's what the ABS has reported on," he said.

"We imagine that will net out as we move into next month and beyond."

Nationally, building approvals dropped nine per cent in April and are down 24 per cent from a year earlier.

JP Morgan chief economist Stephen Walters says while the figures are dire for the building industry they offers some hope for homeowners.

"It's looking pretty grim on house construction but the flip side of that is if you're not getting the supply, I think demand for housing's probably picking up over the next couple of years just with population growth and migration flows in particular," he said.

"So, it could actually be a positive for house prices but certainly on the construction side, they're looking very, very weak."