The ABS reported yesterday that housing starts have fallen a seasonally adjusted 13.2 percent in the September 2010 Quarter. In the ACT, falls were as large as 30 percent.
It is the biggest fall since the GFC with some economists explaining the plunge due to the weather or high rain fall during the quarter. Other economists are suggesting the end of the first home buyers boost stimulus program is more likely the main culprit.
» 8750.0 – Dwelling Unit Commencements, Australia, Preliminary, Sep 2010 – ABS, 14th December 2010.
» Housing starts depressed by rain – NineMSN, 14th December 2010.
The ABS states that new private sector house starts are down 4.3%, while new private sector other residential (units, apartments etc) is down 13.5%. Any builders here? Does rain effect units and apartment building more so than houses?
From what my wife and I see on our travels, outside capital cities there isn’t much going on, compared to what was built in the last few years of the boom. Prices are down some, but if people get serious about selling there is a sudden drop in price to where the market is and voila, a sale.
Prices are on the way down, but it doesn’t affect the average family so much who are selling their house to buy another house in a different area for example as the price reductions should be relative so there is not much to be gained or lost so to speak.
It’s the investors whom have bought property through negative gearing are the ones that are flocking the market in places like Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney so they can sell and capitalise now before the shit hits the fan and they start loosing big time.
After reading many articles from various news sources these so called economists do not have a clue what they are doing. Blame the weather? Mmmm..
@ Pete – I have a mate who is a builder and he hasn’t built any houses for a few months.
Thanks Robert.
I think we have found our culprit :
Property chiefs warn on units glut
http://theage.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/property-chiefs-warn-on-units-glut-20101214-18wsx.html
“Rob Pradolin, general manager of developer Australand, which has $400 million in projects under way in Victoria, predicted that 30 to 40 per cent of apartment projects currently advertised for Melbourne would not go ahead.”
Apparently there is a glut of apartments in Melbourne.
Wonder if banks won’t lend to risky developers or if student numbers are down?
Universities hit hard by slump in foreign students
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/15/3094164.htm
Pete,
Ultimately the true culprit is the average Joe.
Never before in our history has Joe’s activities in realestate been so damaging to our future.
Joe wants….
(1) The government to manipulate the markets both financial and real-estate
(2) Introduce a super profits tax on all banks as the banks make more money than Joe and he’s the jealous type
(3) Keep the negative gearing gravy train running at full steam
(4) Real-estate agents & the media to keep promoting the hype and bull concerning shortages and a good time to buy
(5) Promoters to keep spewing out the old double every 7 years bull
(6) And finally glorify real-estate as the only real way to get ahead in Australia
Not a bad want list really……. if you’re deluded of course.
It’s now almost daily with the bad news stories on the future of real-estate, even today the ATO’s big guy, Ken Henry was warning the government not to interfere with interest rates :
http://www.theage.com.au/business/henry-warns-against-interest-rate-controls-20101215-18xwt.html
Let the spruiking begin ! It would seem that the ‘rents set to soar’ articles are back.. which is great news for ‘investors’… which is a ‘good time to buy an investment property’.. because there is a ‘glut of properties near the city as we have overbuilt’.. which no one wants to rent because ‘foreign student numbers are down’.. because we ‘have a high australian dollar’… but a high australian dollar ‘means investment properties are less attractive to chinese and other international investors’………… and so we go around…
http://theage.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/tenants-feel-the-squeeze-all-over-20101215-18y5s.html