property by suburb crash in regional areas ?, page-11

Holiday areas have always been a good barometer of the economy .

When things are going well , people are buying toys and things like holiday houses . When the economy slows , the toys get sold and holiday houses go up for sale . It's not unusual to see half of coastal towns for sale .

Nothing new there .

Rural areas have been declining for 30 years . Increased mechanization means less farm work . Better transport systems means less local work . Less local employment opportunities mean the kids head to the cities compounding the problem.

The only rural areas that do well are regional centres for transport and healthcare or those that may have a large nearby resource . CGC in Qld for example .

So , I don't see any surprises there either.