Was it Ben Franklin that once said "but in the world nothing can be said to be certain except property spruikers and taxes"?
I think he was onto something with this.
It's amazing over the last two years to watch the spruikers move their target wildly. They've certainly come to the realisation that the bears have been right all along.
But in true spruiker fashion they refuse to admit this fully and still talk up property, grasping at straws for any positive news.
As you have it, the current straws the spuikers are grasping at is centered around Western Australia.
The problem with Western Australia is that it is creating it's own two-speed economy.
Property repossessions in WA are on track to reach record levels, according to new figures released by the Supreme Court.
In the first three months of this year 353 civil property applications were lodged with the court - up from 321 in the same quarter last year.
The Community Housing Coalition of WA says the figures prove many households are continuing to struggle despite the state's low unemployment and healthy economy. Advertisement: Story continues below
Repossessions peaked at 1342 in 2008/09, at the height of the global financial crisis, and appear to be on the rise after declining to 966 in 2009/10.
Community Housing Coalition of WA executive officer Barry Doyle said WA was on track to record 1533 repossessions this year, which would be a new high for the state.
"The upward trend in repossessions should set alarm bells ringing in Parliament House," Mr Doyle said.
"What these figures demonstrate is that an increasing number of home owners are struggling to balance mortgage payments and other household expenses."
"They are extremely vulnerable to factors such as interest rate increases and hikes in the cost of petrol and household utilities. Property repossession orders show us who has gone over the edge; it's likely than many more are hanging on by their fingertips."
He said high rates of civil property repossession were indicative of high levels of mortgage stress in the community.
"We must also have a long hard look at bank lending practices in WA. Certain households have acquired levels of mortgage and personal debt which push the boundaries of sensible lending and the upward trend in repossession orders is evidence of that," he said.
The figures come just days after fresh data showed WA was in a class of its own when it comes to the national economy.
CommSec's State of the States report showed that WA was clearly Australia's best performing economy.
But this prompted calls from both the government and state opposition that WA's citizens should be seeing more benefits.
Opposition spokesman for treasury Ben Wyatt said the government needed to ensure that the proceeds of the strong economy were distributed fairly to WA citizens.
He said the positive economic results proved there were no excuses to cut front line services in the state.
Homeowners are hoping the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates when it meets next Tuesday.
