by Calculated Risk on 6/06/2008 10:56:00 PM

From Bloomberg: Australian House Prices Fall Most in Five Years on Higher Rates

The median price for houses fell to A$458,488 ($439,644) in the March quarter, down 2.7 percent from the previous three months, the Real Estate Institute of Australia and Mortgage Choice Ltd. said. ...

Falling residential prices support the central bank's view that Australia's $1 trillion economy will slow this year, helping ease the fastest inflation in 17 years.

From ABC News in Australia: Construction slump points to economic downturn

The Australian Industry Group (AiG) - Housing Industry Association (HIA) Performance of Construction Index (PCI) reveals that building activity fell sharply in May, after also falling heavily in April.

The index now stands at a paltry 36.9 - well below the benchmark number of 50 that separates an expanding industry from a contracting one.

This is the lowest result and the sharpest monthly fall in the index's two and a half year history.

The previous sharpest fall was the month before.

And from Australian TV: Their view is the credit crisis is back - well, it never really went away (hat tip RemiG, 2 min 56 sec). This appears to be from yesterday - before the U.S. market tanked today.



I laugh every time I hear the phrase "dodgy debt".