pommie bastard

Oh joy what a great week the Aussies are humbled at sport , the weather is winter as we know it in Australia which is wet and windy , the rubber dollar is still bouncing up.
To top it off house prices are sticking in the UK as the Australian ones are rising and I now have 2 offers on the hovel so only a lotto win to go to make my week.


The UK's house prices have stagnated, recording neither growth nor falls during June, a survey from property company Hometrack suggests.

The news confirms the trend of the past few months which shows that the housing boom has ended.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3030142.stm

The Tooth Fairy

With a bit of luck, UK house prices will drop 50% over September rather than dribble away over the next few years. Then we can all sit back and enjoy a nice depression toasting marshmellows under the railway bridge with some good chums.

pommie bastard

Now theres a dream that would keep me warm at night , rising house prices are bad news for any economy , too much money borrowed for homes means too little left for living.

gOD

If interest rates went up, people couldn't afford to pay, houses would be repossessed and sold cheaply, creating the downward spiral of a crash. Terrible for those caught in it of course but good for those who can buy afterwards.

Unlikely to happen though because I don't think we will see high interest rates for quite a looooonnnnnngggg time...

The Tooth Fairy

Or if money does not go around fast enough because people stop spending...

PeteY

Is it not better to buy in a rising market?

Surely buying at the top of the hill just leaves a long way for your value (and hence equity) to roll down?

dotty

Perth and Brisbane Markets have only really been rising for about 18 months. What happened in OZ was Sydney/Melb really went ahead while Bris/Perth stagnated for almost a decade. Really all that has happened so far is prices have caught up to a realistic level. Both places still look cheap compared to the Big Cities.

Land is still going up and people still pay as soon as it is released, no shortage of purchasers so Developers keep on upping the figures. I think Buying in Perth/Bris is still a very safe bet due to the demand and fact prices are still realistic even if they have doubled its only cause they were too cheap before.
Would not be at all surprised if they kept on going up for another 12/18 months then levelled out but I doubt if they will drop because the demand is too high. Dont forget OZ has very limited space that people actually want to live in hence the enormous suburban sprawl going hours out of each city. I reckon your money is well safe.

PeteY

Thanks for the tip

Regarding brissie.....any inside info on areas of the city that might be worth looking at with regards investment?

dotty

Brisbanes got a lot of scope yet. Most of the huge rises have been very close to the City like a 8klm radius. Older houses on the North Side of Brisbane still seem cheap. Yet they are technically only a hour to the Coast (depending on Traffic) yet even in the rush hour half an hour to the City, 15 mins on a Sunday. Those areas got to go up as the population keeps rising.

For new Suburban housing estate type stuff. North lakes is interesting, its half hour ish from Brisbane, but a major shopping centre is supposed to be going in. That would certainly be a big drawcard to most buyers, it is very suburban "sea of roofs" type stuff but that is very popular here. Land in the low $100,000s now which is cheap.