betsyboob

Hi all, i have done a search to see if i can find the answer to my question but im still a little confused.
I was wandering, in the UK the base rate has been reduced, allowing lower rate mortgages as the house prices are high...(correct me if i'm wrong).
From what i've found out Oz mortgages are at around 8.5%....which is quite high in comparrison to the UK and housing still generally expensive, wages the same if not less than UK and cost of living naer on Par.
My question is..... will the crunch hit Oz at some point. I read somewhere a suggestion of a following in the next couple of years, and that Oz has been saved by China buying their resources????!!!! ( i'm really not a political kind of person).
I appologise to all of those with property as i'm sure you don't want anyone wishing this on, but i just wandered if it all might level off soon.
Anyone in the know let me know x

brendarover

Good news for the Brissy Bounders! At least the new arrivals may stand a chance to get on the housing ladder now, as now the madness has ended, maybe even make up some of the UK losses!

The credit crunch for some reason has not affected Oz, whether it will i do not know? It is not in the media yet, but only time will tell. The main driver at the moment in Oz from what i have read is the rising cost of servicing loans. What will probably happen in Oz is, rates may start to come down, but mortgages will become very scarce due to the lack of wholesale money in the markets. So cheaper lending rates in the future, but no money to lend, very similar to the UK, this can also bring the cost of homes back down to earth.

Its whether like here in the UK, the authorities lean towards ignoring cost inflation of essentials, so reduce base rates, but also trash the dollar in the process. From a future migrator, i would like to see this happen, as i would get more bang for my pound, house prices would fall due to the lack of money to be lent by the banks, but not good for present expats as they would see a decrease in their living standards as cost inflation soars, but wages stagnate, similar to the UK?

Who know's?



http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/arti...id=theage:top5



Brisbane's property market has come to a "screaming halt" and the outlook is grim, with the number of unsold homes rising and buyer confidence dropping, a leading analyst believes.

Weekend auction clearance rates were at 35.7 per cent, with just 20 properties sold across Brisbane. It represented a drop from 37.9 per cent last weekend.

Consistently low rates indicated a slump in buyer confidence that has been blamed on rapidly rising mortgage rates, Australian Property Monitors general manager Michael McNamara told brisbanetimes.com.au.

"The Brisbane market was roaring ahead last year with 20 per cent-plus growth, but basically that has stopped," Mr McNamara said today.

"It seems to have come to a screaming halt."

Figures showed a 12 per cent increase in the number of unsold inventory in Brisbane during March, and the situation in other capital cities looks similar, he said.

"This time last year we recorded about 240,000 property listings across Australia - this year it's at 270,000... it's right across the board - every capital city is seeing much more unsold inventory."

Analysts are nervously awaiting first quarter market results, which are due in about two weeks.

"We'll have enough data then to make a call on the first quarter and we're a little nervous about that," Mr McNamara said.

Leading indicators pointed to a rapidly slowing Brisbane market, he said, describing the market outlook as "not too flash."