From the Wall Street Journal: Australia Ramps Up Warnings on Surging House Prices (gated) (BTW – while the Journal is gated, they have a price of $1 for 3 months access at present … can’t even get a cheeseburger for that in Australia).
- RBA said it would continue to monitor a surge in speculative lending for property
- Says some measures of real-estate risk appetite resemble boom-like conditions
- Roughly 40% of all mortgage lending now going to property investors in key states such as New South Wales, there is a danger that “unrealistic” expectations of home-price growth are building
- “The share of households favoring real estate has risen to a level approaching that of the early-2000s property boom”
- near-term house price risks appear contained, the speculative property market will be “monitored closely for signs of excessive lending and lending practices,”
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Coming up at 0330GMT: RBA governor, Glenn Stevens gives a speech titled “The Economic Outlook” at Annual Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong - preview here
