| | | Effective PR

house prices

Australia's consumer regulator's interference with mortgages could trigger economic meltdown.

Starting point: banks in Australia have behaved appallingly. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, ACCC, has been shown up as .. pick a negative adjective and it's probably been used. The ACCC, along with other regulators who have been shown up as wanting are now doing their best to prove they are "across it," as Australians say. Today, they say that they have produced a "final report" from their residential mortgage price inquiry. But.. has the ACCC now moved from ensuring good behaviour to managing how banks do business? It raises risk management questions, liquidity issues and even the stability of the housing market which has been in an accelerating downturn for a while and is showing all the signs of turning into a bit of a crisis.

BIScom Subsection: 
Home loans

New South Wales tries to handle two-pronged housing crisis

vspace_10px.png

Australia has long been a dangerous environment in the housing market. It was, in relative terms, barely affected by the global financial crisis and rampant inflation has been ignored by national and state governments, both of which have significant influence over the market. It's a bizarre market: the signs of imminent collapse are ignored and prices continue to rise, causing excessive borrowing and thousands of families trapped in rentals because they cannot afford to buy. New South Wales has today announced significant changes to the taxes under its control to try to fix some of the causes of under-supply. But interest rates, the most important weapon, are in federal hands.

CoNet Section: 
Politics and Economies

spacer_20_tallx1_wide.png

please_be_informed_front_page_article_separator.png

UK: property boom faces collapse

vspace_10px.png

It may not be scientific research but the word-of-mouth system around South East England last week was that the property boom was already in the grip of a downturn as the IMF issued a report saying that it was all rosy. Last year, the UK housing market, according to some reports, soared 25% by average house price value.

spacer_20_tallx1_wide.png

please_be_informed_front_page_article_separator.png