Australia?s low level of unemployment is often held-up as a reason why home values won?t fall. According to this argument, home values will remain supported as long as people have jobs and can continue meeting their mortgage repayment obligations.
In three of the cases ? the US, UK and Ireland ? declines in home values began 6 to 9 months prior to unemployment rising. In the other two cases ? NZ and Spain ? the declines in home values more or less occurred simultaneously with the rises in unemployment.
