CONSUMERS who default on their post-Christmas credit-card bills could swiftly be declared bankrupt and have their homes auctioned to meet their debts as the banking sector tightens the screws. » Debtors face loss of home – Sydney Morning Herald, December 30th 2007.
The rising economies of Asia are too small and deformed to rescue world growth as America, Britain, Australia, and Club Med face their day of debt reckoning. China may make matters worse, not better. The seven pillars of global demand over the last year – measured by current account deficits …
AUSTRALIAN households are in good financial shape and not facing huge risks, despite debt levels reaching record highs, the central bank says. Speaking today at the opening of the 20th Australasian Finance and Banking Conference in Sydney, Mr Battellino conceded that household debt, as a proportion of total debt, had …
A new openness at the Reserve Bank has revealed a board increasingly worried about the chaos in world credit markets and the outlook for the world economy. “It’s very clear from the statement this morning that the bank is a little bit more concerned about global credit conditions and the …
The effect of the US housing crisis on Australia is still unclear and it will all depend on how deeply America and Europe are hit, a leading Australian businessman says. » US housing crisis on Australia ‘unclear’ – The Age, 3rd December 2007.
UK house prices tumbled in November at their sharpest rate for more than 12 years, figures from a leading mortgage lender showed yesterday, in yet another sign that higher interest rates and the credit squeeze are taking the steam out of Britain’s housing boom. » Biggest drop in house prices …
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Economies in Central and Eastern Europe continued to grow at a robust pace in the third quarter, but rising inflation, the global credit crunch and cooling property markets will likely lead to a slowdown in the region next year. » Emerging European economies post robust growth; …
NEW house sales remained sluggish last month, posting only a slight increase, new figures out from the Housing Industry Association (HIA) show. The HIA new home sales data showed an 0.8 per cent rise in the sale of homes and units for October. Detached home sales fell by 1.6 per …
A new report on mortgage defaults argues that rising property prices have disguised the true extent of problems in the home loan market. The report by the credit ratings agency Fitch says rising prices have let borrowers sell or re-finance when they get into difficulty. . . . If that …
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. home prices were falling in every region of the country in September, according to a closely watched index of home prices released Tuesday. Home prices fell in September in all 20 major cities covered by the Case-Shiller price index, even in cities that had been holding …
EXCESSIVE use of credit and credit cards has contributed to a leap in the number of personal bankruptcy cases, the Insolvency and Trustee Service of Australia says. According to its annual report, there were 31,971 new bankruptcies, debt agreements or personal insolvency cases in Australia in 2006-07, an increase of …
IT has become fashionable of late to say that America’s subprime borrowers themselves deserve a good part of the blame for the current mortgage mess. They were either greedy (looking for easy money in a bubbly real estate market) or irresponsible (assuming a debt whose terms they did not understand). …
THE sub-prime mortgage crisis is poised to get much worse. Next year, interest rates are set to rise – or “reset” – on $US362 billion ($412 billion) worth of adjustable-rate sub-prime mortgages, according to data calculated by Bank of America Corp. » Sub-prime mess set to get worse – The …
HOME affordability is at its lowest level in 22 years, with more than a third of a family’s income needed to make average mortgage repayments, the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) says. The Deposit Power/REIA Affordability report for the September quarter found 36.6 per cent of household income was …
THE chances of a global “growth recession,” where world growth dips to below 2 per cent, are about one in three next year, according to economists at Germany’s biggest bank Deutsche Bank. ”The bursting of the housing and credit bubble this year and the ensuing credit and banking crisis have …
In a last ditch effort to prevent the Reserve bank from raising Interest Rates, Treasurer Peter Costello was warned the China bubble and the US subprime mortgage crisis could cause ripple effects in Australia. Prime Minister John Howard has distanced himself from Costello’s comments and refuses to elaborate. Howard has …
First-home buyers now require a household income of more than $100,000 to qualify for a loan on the median-priced first home, a report from the Housing Industry Association and Commonwealth Bank has found. This is up steeply from $80,000 two years ago, due to rising home prices and interest rates. …
DARWIN renters are paying more than those in Sydney, with the median house rental hitting $410 a week. » Darwin rents race ahead of Sydney – Sunday Territorian (NT), 6th October 2007
A RISE in house prices in Sydney’s suburbs is needed to rescue the home building industry from the worst slump it has had nation-wide in a quarter of a century. But with rising interest rates and the tightening on easy credit, the likely hood of further rises in prices become …
“Generation Y (the name given for those in their twenties), for the most part, would rather pay exorbitant rent in inner city locations than live in what they see as the cultural wasteland of suburbia.” » Generation Y pushing up rents: report – The Age, 4th October 2007.
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