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Australian Economy

Housing bubble makes mockery of superannuation

Up, down or sideways? Debate has intensified about the future direction of Australia’s property market since the RBA announced a 25 basis point cut to the official cash rate this week. It’s not the first cut we have had. Australia has experienced five downward adjustments in monetary policy since November

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Australian Housing

Written Off: Negative Gearing

Prosper Australia invites you to an presentation on Negative Gearing to be held in Melbourne next Tuesday night (2nd October). Karl Fitzgerald describes the session: In what promises to be the most extensive research yet into negative gearing, Philip Soos has assembled an extensive array of data to dispute that

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Australian Housing

Responsible lending an oxymoron

After reporting on the low doc loan scandal last month, the 7:30 report has tonight followed up on the allegedly growing fraud within the industry. Australian Broker magazine surveyed more than 200 mortgage brokers in the wake of a 7.30 expose last month on fraudulent lending. 85 per cent said

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Australian Economy

Smart bears start to infiltrate mainstream media

As awareness of Australia’s household debt and associated housing asset bubble continuously permeates, we are witnessing some well written commentary and opinions appear in the mainstream media. On Tuesday, Michael Feller told Sydney Morning Herald readers that being a bear is not ‘unAustralian’. Saying that Australia has unusually high house

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Australian Housing

Banks try to hold Subprime floodgates closed

The Australian’s Anthony Klan has today reported: One of the nation’s biggest low-doc issuers, the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, has told borrowers they are not entitled to copies of their signed loan application forms, while other major lenders have told borrowers such documents have been “destroyed”, are “not relevant” or

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Australian Housing

Senate briefed on Subprime crisis : Day 2

Yesterday, a Senate inquiry heard from consumer advocate Denise Brailey that in the past 6 weeks she has seen 400 low-doc or no-doc loans and each one had been fraudulently tampered with. Many were loans to the unemployed. Today, the inquiry heard how the Westpac bank had lent $440,000 to

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Australian Housing

$1.55 million to $381 thousand in five years

The Gold Coast Bulletin reports on a family who sold their Broadbeach apartment to developers five years ago for $1.55 million. They have just brought it back from receivers for $381,000. Read more here. » Family buys back $1.55m unit for $381k – Gold Coast Bulletin, 7th August 2012. »

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Australian Economy

Senate briefed on Subprime crisis : Day 1

If you have been following Denise Brailey, a consumer advocate and president of the Banking & Finance Consumers Support Association (BFCSA) or investigative journalist at The Australia, Anthony Klan you will know there is a potential Subprime crisis brewing in Australia. Over the past few months we have heard numerous

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Australian Economy

The Lucky Country’s Housing Industry is in Crisis

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on a Housing Industry in crisis yesterday with more than 363 companies from the building industry hitting the wall since January 1. The Herald’s Adele Ferguson writes “What is even more alarming is the trend seems to be getting worse, with 30 building companies failing

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Australian Housing

Appetite for housing debt continues to fall

Data released from the Reserve Bank of Australia today, show Australian’s are continuing to shun housing debt despite interest rate cuts. Annual Housing credit growth has hit lows of 5.1 percent in May, continuing its downwards trend. » Financial Aggregates, May 2012 – The Reserve Bank of Australia, 29th June

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Australian Housing

Census debunks housing shortage

The 2011 census has shown the foundations of Australia’s housing boom may not be as concrete as first thought. The property industry has frequently said an acute shortage of homes in Australia will put a floor under Australia’s overpriced housing market. Bloomberg told the world last night, “Australia has almost