THE AGE: IT'S official. The collapse of the US housing market has hit the broader American economy — and Australia is about to feel the effects. The loss of 63,000 US jobs last month was the second consecutive fall — and the strongest indication so far that the world's biggest economy is in recession.
The news comes as Melbourne's property market hit its own rocky patch, with sales at an 18-month low yesterday and almost a third of properties failing to sell under the hammer.
The Real Estate Institute of Victoria blamed the 67% clearance rate on surging interest rates and the fact that the number of properties for sale was double that for the Labour Day weekend last year. The clearance rate is the lowest recorded for Saturday auctions since September 2006, and 16% below last year. We're feeling it as US economy worsens >>> By Peter Weekes and Chris Vedelago
Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)
