The avalanche of bad residential property news just keeps coming. Today, the ABS reported home loan approvals in February has fallen a seasonally adjusted 5.6 percent to 45,393 approvals. This is the lowest number in the past 10 years, when in February 2001, 44,663 approvals were recorded. February’s figure is now 32% lower than the peak 66,767 approvals recorded in July 2007 before the Global Financial Crisis took hold.
Tasmania lead the plunge, recording a 13.7% fall in approvals. Home loans in the Northern Territory fell 11.4, New South Wales 10.1 percent, South Australia 5 percent, Victoria 4.6 percent, ACT 4.5 percent, Western Australia 2.1 percent, while flood ravaged Queensland only recorded a 0.5 percent fall.
» Home loans drop on weak demand in biggest fall in 14 years – News Limited, 6th April 2011.
» Home loans sink to decade low – The Sydney Morning Herald, 6th April 2011.
When the wheels fall off, the car really comes to a halt.
What are the residential house builders going to do? Besides enjoying the new cars abd boats funded by tax payer stimulus. They might struggle for enough work this year.
How many times have I been told by experts (owners) house prices don’t fall in Australia. Well Hello!! the elephant in the room just passed wind and that has sent all the greater fools running for the exits. What is holding the prices up now? Goodwill ? Memories ? Water views???????
Could it be this is what our leaders want – ie Wealth Destruction on a grand scale? Afterall, wealth is power in this world.
Hmmm. Credit is drying up and stock levels are increasing. That means something is about to give…….
Just think what this will do to inventory levels!! +10%++
Buckle up and enjoy the ride folks!
The sales and loans that would have been happening now were pulled into last year by the Rudd FHOB scheme. Julia will probably give it another go to keep building unions happy, regardless of the budget position and the acceleration it gives to prices at the time.
The only countervailing factor may be this: I think that Glenn may have told Julia and Wayne to come up with a fiscally responsible budget, or else. This is probably why there was no interest rate rise last week. There is always stuff going on behind the scenes, eg the Green’s carbon tax blackmail.
From a few months observation of her actions vs rhetoric I would have to say that Julia is a pushover for any lobby group with a few votes up their sleeve or a bit of power she doesn’t have. Talks tough, folds easily.
all I know is that there is going to be blood on the streets !
Drove past the offices of a major resi builder in Melbourne the other day and was gobsmacked at the number of company station wagons parked out the front – must have been 50 or so. It makes you wonder how much of a ramp up was required to meet the spike due to the FHOB and how these fixed assets will be managed with the black hole in demand that subsequently followed. Surely they must have forecast this given the amount of demand that was pulled forward.
I believe we are in a recession here in WA, the mines are going strong but retail and construction is langiushing. If Glen Stevens wants to give himself a 1 million dollar salary for good “interest rate management” we all should just walk-out on our high paying mortgages.! Suck-in the FHB and then ramp-up interest rates is a national disgrace.
It is catching up. All the Rudd govt did was put a band aid on the economy. The band is falling off and now it is going to be worse. The govt is trying to cover up things with job reports and other bulls$%t reports. Australias day in the sun is fading away. China is about to hit some major brick walls.
Now reckless borrowers who cannot meet their loan repayments are allowed to draw from their superannuation funds. This is an absolute disgrace! We are now all forced to support these people who are partly responsible for dramatically inflating real estate prices. We should all then have access to our superannuation funds not just the irresponsible borrowers. The government is hell bent to maintaining the bubble
Fred from my understanding you have always been able to access your super if you can provide evidence of financial hardship.
Fred and Madmike, yes you can access some or all your super if you can provide evidence of financial hardship, and have a mortgage, or 26 continuous weeks of CentreLink assistance with the hardship. Also super accounts with less that $230 bucks (yes nothing), can be closed to the holder’s benefit.
It such a shame (despite who can be blamed, or all parties blamed like buyer and seller) that super, being real wealth, is transfered from the now needy, to the creditor. Man! what a situation, that’s real wealth is being transfered! As opposed to pieces of paper with I.O.U or U.O.Me scribbled on to it.
Scarey stuff, well I’m scared by this anyway, and I’m not in such a situation.