here's a couple of article regarding our very own...

here's a couple of article regarding our very own australian-made housing crisis in the making - which supports my contention that we're about a year behind the u.s. in the interest rate cycle and subsequent consequences to the housing market and the economy generally.

my favourite line is in the second article - where property analyst Residex suggests this is a buying opportunity. yep - haven't we heard that one before.


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23370963-20142,00.html

AUSTRALIA'S mortgage crisis is deepening and for the first time threatening to produce "affluent stress" -- financial grief among higher income families -- as new figures show that more than 700,000 households will come under some mortgage pressure by June.

About 300,000 are expected to fall into the worst "severe stress" category, possibly leading to forced sales and foreclosures, as consumers struggle under the weight of higher interest rates and rising living costs. The major banks, faced by higher funding costs, are expected to again raise their variable mortgage rates by about 15 basis points, putting even more households under severe mortgage stress.

The dire predictions are contained in the latest JP Morgan/Fujitsu Mortgage Industry Report. It says more than 700,000 households will come under "mild" stress, the symptoms of which include borrowing on credit cards to make mortgage repayments


http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=59380

Rate rises hurt house prices: analyst
Friday Mar 14 17:27 AEDT
Home prices have taken a dive because of higher interest rates with just over one third of residential properties in Sydney and Melbourne having lost value as have half of all homes in Perth.