The Australian, Thursday, September 29, 2011
"House prices on the slide"
"...research shows more than 300,000 homes nationally are today worth less than their owners paid for them."
Considering there are millions of homes in Australia, it doesn't sound that bad.
"...includes almost 100,000 homes bought since the onset of the global financial crisis in early 2008..."
Does that mean over 200,000 homes bought before the GFC are worth less than they were paid for? Now that sounds bad. Particularly over 4+ years since.
"Queensland has been hardest hit by declining home values, with about one in seven homeowners sitting on paper losses..."
I wonder how many people would have rushed in to buy RE in QLD, if they knew there was a 15% chance it was going to depreciate? Guess the RE agents forgot to mention it.
"One in ten homes in Western Australia are now worth less than their owners paid for them..."
Only a 10% chance of losing money on RE in WA. Not bad odds really, considering other investments.
But what happened to the mining boom? How can RE drop in the biggest mining states? Floods and tourism might help explain QLD, but what about WA?
"For September, house prices nationally slid 2.4 per cent after a decline of 2 per cent in June, with a further 1 per cent slide expected in the next 12 months."
So we've already had some declines, but only another 1% decline over the next 12 months? With an inevitable Greek default looming, Spain & Italy to follow, then European & US banks collapsing, and China slowing, and commodity prices crashing? Not to mention Australia: retail crumbling, unemployment rising, manufacturing dying, real incomes decreasing. Only 1% decline in RE over 12 months? Really? Do people really have that much faith in governments and central banks to print money out of thin air to paper over all the trillions in bad debts? Really? We're all doomed.