Aggregated Awareness

From Christopher Pavese of Broyhill Asset Management via Zerohedge comes this well put together report on the Australian Housing Market, and where it might be heading.

Excerpt: "...The recurring theme in every case is that housing bubbles are almost always justified by “new era” thinking, land shortages, and are considered unique right up until the moment they pop. Most bubbles around the world have at least partially deflated in the wake of the Great Contraction, yet the property market Down Under continues to chug along ignoring the gravitational forces of mean reversion as Aussie consumers continue their American-inspired credit binge.

US housing prices nearly doubled in the decade leading to their ultimate peak as shown in the above chart. Australian real estate kept pace with these gains until US home prices lost nearly a third of their value as US home owners deleveraged their balance sheets. Since then, Australian households have watched their home prices appreciate by at least that much, while they continue to feast at the trough of easy credit..."

From Gonzalo Lira's blog via Zerohedge comes this excellent commentary on why both 'Austerity' & 'Stimulus' economic policy measures, being espoused by advocates of both camps in governments & monetary authorities around the world, are doomed to fail.