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Strategies & Market Trends : The Residential Real Estate Crash Index -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GraceZ who wrote (7984)	1/7/2003 7:43:58 PM
From: Jim McMannis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 306849

RE:"fire the accountant, that right there would save me a bundle" I'm sure you're aware Accountants have a large lobby in DC lobbying against tax simplification? Used to be lead by Andrew Tobias..."Tax Cut" software dude among other things. Interestingly the Real Estate industry was running radio ads against tax simplification back when Forbes was running for president. I can't imagine why? <G>

To: GraceZ who wrote (7984)	1/7/2003 8:30:55 PM
From: Jorj X Mckie	Respond to of 306849

think of all of the IRS folks that could be cut too. Great way to reduce gov't spending.

To: GraceZ who wrote (7984)	1/7/2003 9:15:15 PM
From: Elroy Jetson	Respond to of 306849

The housing boom shudders to a halt in Australia smh.com.au Housing heads from boom to gloom By John Garnaut -- Sydney Morning Herald -- January 8 2003 The housing boom has shuddered to a halt, with new figures revealing property prices have stopped rising for the first time in two years and building approvals across the country have plunged. Figures provided by Residex, the Reserve Bank's preferred property statistician, show the Sydney housing market - the epicentre of the national property boom - stopped dead in the final three months of last year. The stalling of prices in the December quarter after a series of strong rises could be followed by price falls in coming months, analysts warned. Investors who have bought apartments in the past six months, or houses in the past three months, would now struggle to recoup their money. Consumer advocates are concerned about speculators who bought "off the plan" or who paid a few hundred dollars for a deposit bond - which allowed them to secure a property with the aim of making a quick profit by selling at a higher price before they had to stump up substantial funds. "Both building approvals and prices have plateaued and are showing signs of falling over coming periods," said Scott Haslem, senior economist at the investment bank UBS Warburg. "In tandem, they're probably consistent with the end of the housing boom. It's really the first clear signal that the housing downturn is starting in earnest." Other figures released yesterday show housing building approvals fell by a record 26 per cent in November after adjusting for seasonal factors. The Bureau of Statistics figures show approvals for free-standing houses fell 12 per cent, continuing a four-month declining trend, while those for apartment buildings plummeted 46 per cent. Housing construction has been the ballast in Australia's recent world-defying economic performance and the economy will need to find other sources of growth to maintain its strength this year. But the housing downturn and the end of the property price bubble will make it more likely the Reserve Bank will keep interest rates at their current low level well into the year. Mr Haslem said the Residex property price figures are consistent with Sydney's sluggish auction clearance rates, which slumped from above 80 per cent to 54 per cent late last year. UBS Warburg says house prices will fall over coming years and would need to drop by 20 per cent to achieve fair value for rental returns. The Residex figures - in preliminary form until their formal release in the coming week - show zero price movements for both houses and apartments in Sydney in the December quarter. The boom has ended most abruptly for free-standing houses, as prices had risen 3.5 per cent in the September quarter and 6 per cent in the three months before then. Using the Residex resale price measure, house prices soared 63 per cent in the 3 years to September, with the median house price ring from $281,000 to $440,000, or 57 per cent. Last year, the Reserve repeatedly warned of unrealistic expectations of capital gains among residential investors being fed by scheming vendors and financiers. "There is a near-mania to draw more and more consumers into the home ownership market just as the market is drying up," said Catherine Wolthuizen, of the Australian Consumers Association. "The market has been allowed to grow unchecked ... policy initiatives to expand home ownership are part of the problem".