Friday, July 29, 2011

What is the property market doing?

There were a number of stories in Thursday's Australian Financial Review (28 July 2011) about residential property. Reading the articles, it seems like no one knows what is going on. Just a bunch of people taking guesses. Some quotes:
  • "House prices fall for sixth month"
  • "Analysts have reversed their position expectations for the housing market and warn there is a significant risk of another round of price falls as a picture emerges of tight consumer spending and fears of global fallout from the US debt crisis."
  • Westpac said that the housing market was "delicately poised."
  • "We think there are significant downside risks for the housing market over the next 12 months."
  • "... several capitals showing no sign of bottoming as the usual winter slowdown in buying activity compounded already weak market conditions."
  • Buyers and sellers were "waiting for spring."
  • "... significant drops in hose prices were unlikely because there was no reason to expect a big increase in forced selling."
  • "tough trading conditions in Queensland" for a cautious Australand
  • "Queensland, Victoria and WA were all experiencing slow-downs."
  • "We do not expect sentiment in SE Queensland to recover any time soon."
  • "...the apocalypse is yet to arrive. I don't think it will."
  • "Prices are falling in Brisbane; they have collapsed on the Gold and Sunshine coasts."
  • "the worst since the 1960s"
  • "investors are unlikely to return in numbers until prices start rising."
  • "House and unit prices in Brisbane have dropped further and analysts have mixed views about whether they have yet reached the bottom."
  • "In fact, we can't see there being any bottoming [in Qld prices] until 2012."
  • "the value proposition in Brisbane now was quite compelling."
  • "the [Brisbane] market may be at or approaching the bottom of the cycle."

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