A report from ABC News in Australia. "The boom time is over and we're now officially experiencing the 'house price fall we had to have' according to Deloitte Access Economics. 'Our house prices here in Australia had streaked past anything sensible by way of valuation,' said Deloitte partner Chris Richardson. 'Now, finally gravity has caught up with that stupidity and prices are falling. In Sydney and Melbourne, housing prices are falling by over $1,000 a week.'"

"Mr Richardson names three particular factors putting downward pressure on prices. Banks are raising interest rates: 'Even though the Reserve Bank has done nothing.' Banks have become cautious: 'You've seen the banks being more careful with the loans they're giving. Those loans are slower and smaller than they used to be.' Less money from overseas: 'Foreign buyers are a bit more cautious.'"

From Domain News. "Almost 9 per cent of mortgage holders are now underwater with their home loans, as falling house prices push them into negative equity, new research has shown. These homeowners have seen their mortgages barely budge as their homes decline in value, leaving them with a loan bigger than the value of their property."

"The problem is concentrated among affordable homes, with properties owned by home owners with negative equity worth $522,000 on average. Homeowners in Western Australia are most likely to be in the red, with more than one in six mortgage holders owing more than the value of their home."

"Mozo housing expert Steve Jovcevski agreed recent purchasers were the ones feeling the brunt of the negative equity. 'It’s disproportionally hurting first-home buyers who can least afford it,' he said."

"Roy Morgan industry communications director Norman Morris suggested the data didn’t capture the full extent of the problem, as house price falls have only just begun to be felt. 'By all indications it’s looking to get worse,' he said. 'If home-loan rates rise, the problem would be likely to worsen as repayments would increase and house prices decline, with the potential to lower equity even further.'"

"Jovcevski said owner-occupiers with negative equity were at the mercy of the banks and 'whatever terms the banks dictate to them,' adding the situation could have a broader effect on the economy. 'Negative equity is a mindset,' he said, 'when people realise when their property is worth less than what they paid for it, consumer spending goes out the window.'"

The Sydney Morning Herald. "The parlous state of Sydney's housing market, where the most recent auction clearance rate is at a decade low of between 38-40 per cent, has led the listed real estate agency McGrath to report a $1.9 million loss for the September quarter. McGrath said auction clearance rates and the number of properties taken to auction were well below the previous year. An increase in stock levels combined with lower buyer activity meant houses were taking longer to sell and prices were down across the sector."

"Last weekend Sydney clearance rates slumped to a low of 44.5 per cent. In Melbourne the rate was about 48 per cent. Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell said the cautious mood among sellers and buyers appeared to be deepening, and clearance rates were reaching a new low."

"'It’s highly likely last weekend’s clearance rate will be revised lower, which means it could reach somewhere in the realm of 38-40 per cent,' Ms Powell said. 'The slowing nature of the auction market suggests the downturn has yet to hit a peak with further price softening ahead.'"

"Winston Sammut, managing director of Folkestone Maxim Asset Management, said the weaker results, 'reflect the changing role of real estate agencies.' 'It's the demise of the real estate agency business as we knew it,' Mr Sammut said."