Housing affordability returns, but for how long?

Good one Chris, maybe adjust that yellow line down to the next 2.5x income support level and then we may get a turnaround (Housing affordability returns, but for how long? March 13).
As long as people are in denial about the house price trend, they will keep falling. You are one my contrarian indicators, so thank you. When you are despondent I will buy a paper and get in the car for Saturday inspections.

If housing affordability was all that mattered, we would never have gotten into this mess in the first place (Housing affordability returns, but for how long? March 13).
Meanwhile, other figures show some states are already in recession, unemployment will creep up a little, stock on market is increasing, bank foreclosure sales are expected to rise this year, the number of days taken to sell a property is increasing, auction clearance rates have fallen back under 60 per cent, mortgage volumes are falling, and the ratio of net new mortgages is steadily falling to 1.0 and maybe under.

To Glen (March 13, 1.56pm), my sincere sympathy is with you if you're trying to pick Australia's housing market by the use of technical charts alone (Housing affordability returns, but for how long? March 13). I think it's fair to say that Australia's fortunes have increased somewhat since 2000 and before, especially relative to the rest of the developed world. Why wouldn't this flow through to a higher dwelling versus disposable income ratio? Keep waiting for the mystery signs to tell you to buy buy buy; you might be waiting a while

If housing affordability is good then surely more is better? That would seem to be when it returns to the historical trend from 1993 to 2000 at 2.5 to 3.0 times income (Housing affordability returns, but for how long? March 13).
Meanwhile, regardless of how 'affordable' the stats say houses are, there are very few buyers who are prepared to come up with the money.
Whether it's borrowed or not, investors will only put their money in when they think the market is going up or at least not costing them money each year. And it fell by 5 per cent last year.
Until prices recover there will be few buyers. Until there are buyers who think we've bottomed there will be no recovery. If in the meantime there are more and more sellers who'd rather get out now while they can, the market will keep moving down.
It might not crash like a waterfall but a glacier is made of the same stuff, goes the same distance down and erodes just as much.

Glen Sigvart (March 13, 1:56pm), back in the 1990s people used to complain just as loudly when the ratio was only 2.5x. Some people are destined to never own property and people who always complain how expensive it is fall into that category.

Housing was flavour of the last decade for the uneducated investor across the globe, it was a successful one way bet (Housing affordability returns, but for how long? March 13). The house of cards is now collapsing as debt is contracting and over leverage is shown for the noose it really is.
Frugality is the new greed in most developed countries, this is now being played out in Australia (haven't you noticed retail collapsing?), just like other Anglo-sphere countries.
Don't say you weren't warned!

I finally decided to check out these falling house prices. Are you kidding me? $650,000 for an old, average size timber home in Albion? I thought I was going to pick up 3 for that price.
I don't see a need for emergency selling, thanks (Housing affordability returns, but for how long?, March 14).

'I think it's fair to say that Australia's fortunes have increased somewhat since 2000 and before, especially relative to the rest of the developed world (Housing affordability returns, but for how long? March 13). Why wouldn't this flow through to a higher dwelling versus disposable income ratio?'
Seeing as this is a RATIO (not absolute value) then if Australia's fortunes had increased somewhat then if anything the ratio should have decreased (as wages growth would have outstripped house price growth) What you saw from 2000-2010 was the reverse!
If the ratio of wages to house prices increased from 2000-2010 its clear that house price growth was above wage growth. The only way for this to happen is if credit issuance for mortgages during the same period accelerated.

The critical statement here is that this is all based on "dwelling price-to-disposable household income". Disposable household income includes all the kids living at home but contribute considerably to the total disposable household income (but can't afford to move out due to high house prices), but not contributing to the payment on the house. Now if there was a graph showing household debt to the disposable income of those that are actually paying the house off, you might get another story (Housing affordability returns, but for how long?, March 14).

Christopher Joye, what is "disposable household income" now, $2300 per week? Please give me the answer (Housing affordability returns, but for how long? March 14).
Thankyou and have a nice week.
Cheers,