Federal election another cause for timidness as national dwelling median hovers around its challenging $483,000 hurdle
Back at the desk or still on holidays?
But even before the 2012 Christmas decorations came down – based on the 12 days-after tradition –Coles and Woolworths were spruiking their Easter egg and hot cross bun offerings.
Almost no room in there for catching one's breath, let alone contemplation as the zealous marketeers seek to direct the masses.
I hope some of us got the chance over the past fortnight to turn off the Twitter, tune into the family conversations in between cricket sessions, and possibly even dive into a good book. And not necessarily one on property investment.
Typically I reckon everyone returns from their summer Christmas break, hot sand washed away from between the toes, brimming with enthusiasm and hope.
But this year, and even ignoring the prospect of an early Easter, I suspect there's a little more latent anxiety in the mix as we start making plans.
I suspect given the world of the never-ending great property unknowns, 2013 will be a heightened version of years past. There will be the good, the bad and the ugly - all depending on your own outlook offcourse.
Ever more forecasts.
Ever more data.
And of course Property Observer casting some critical comment over it all.
Property Observer's overall outlook is neither bullish or bearish. We simply seek, in the first instance, to report how it is across Australia and occasionally the world. And then we let many voices analyse and comment on what's out there.
The reality is that there are many property markets within our capital cities and regions – all with their individual momentum, upwards, downwards or stagnating.
And there are also the overarching national and international influences.
Who really knows about the international ones, especially since the 2007 toxic mortgage debt occurance, but on the national front, there's little doubt this year’s federal election will have an impact – before and after – one way or another.
Most likely introducing an element of hesitation. Or rather perhaps compounding the already existing inertia.
The most interesting property statistic to be issued over the break was that Australian home values have fallen for the second year in a row, marking the worst run for the national property market in 16 years.
The slight easing occurred despite the Reserve Bank of Australia slashing the cash interest rate six times in little more than a year.
The conclusion to be drawn is that the cheaper credit is tempering the property downturn rather than kick-starting any across the board recovery.
It was RP Data-Rismark that reported that capital city dwelling values fell 0.4% in 2012, with the decline significantly lower than the 3.8% drop in 2011.
‘‘This is the first time we’ve had back-to-back value declines for an index that goes back to 1996,’’ said RP Data senior research analyst Cameron Kusher.
‘‘It is clear that the previous strong value growth conditions to which many home owners became accustomed to in recent years are well and truly behind us.’’
The median price of a dwelling across the country is $483,000.
Which, as Kusher points out, is a big commitment.
