A report from the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia. "The median value of a house in Sydney dropped last year by 10 per cent or a touch over $100,000 over the past year. In Melbourne, house values are down by 9.1 per cent or $75,000. Both cities saw values drop by more than 4 per cent through the past three months, so there was an acceleration in the decline through the tail end of 2018. Sydney's 11.1 per cent fall since its peak is the biggest correction since at least 1980."

"Those further along the price correction cycle offer some telling insights. Since mid-2014, Perth values have fallen 15.6 per cent while in Darwin they have tumbled by 24.5 per cent."

From the Daily Telegraph. "Homebuyers have been getting the best property deals in Sydney regions with a high supply of new apartments. A one-bedroom apartment on Devlin St in Ryde was recently snapped up for $680,000, $115,000 below the 2014 price.

"In nearby Gladesville, a two-bedroom unit at 4-6 Harvard St was snapped up for $340,000 in December — $225,000 below the 2013 price."

"'Not many people can buy so serious sellers are finding they have to keep cutting their prices,' said CoreLogic’s Cameron Kusher. 'Buyers can see there is a downturn, so there is no impetus to jump into the market … there could be a feeling that if they wait prices will be even lower.'"

From ABC News. "'This is the worst fall we've seen since the GFC, which was a short and sharp correction, down about 5 per cent from peak to trough,' CoreLogic's head of research Tim Lawless told ABC News."

"Mr Lawless said the current housing downturn would be worse that experienced that during the global financial crisis because the Federal Government now has very little ammunition to stimulate the economy."

"'We started to see interest rates coming down back in 2008, and a lot of stimulus came into the market in the form of the first home owner grant boost, cash handouts, infrastructure stimulus, and so forth,' he said. 'I don't think we're going to see a lifeline thrown to the marketplace this time in that form."

"To keep the economy afloat, the Reserve Bank (RBA) aggressively slashed interest rates from 7.25 to 3 per cent in the eight months between August 2008 and April 2009. But there is not much room for the RBA to cut rates now as they have been kept on hold at a record low 1.5 per cent for 28 months.'"

"'In addition, we're heading towards a federal election where we could see some taxation policies being changed, which could have a further negative effect on the market,' Mr Lawless said."

The Herald Sun. "The Melbourne housing market finished 2018 with its largest quarterly decline on record — and experts say the downturn could 'become bigger' this year. CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher said prices had been falling faster in Victoria’s capital than in Sydney, meaning Melbourne’s downturn could soon eclipse its northern rival’s."

"'Affordability is now very stretched,' he said. 'Someone on a median income will now have to spend 17 times their income to buy a house. Banks are being very cautious about (high) debt-to-income levels, so (financing) has become challenging.'"

From Paul Wallis. "If you were looking for a great way of creating a load of garbage out of thin air, the Australian housing market is a great place to start. This hyperinflated farcical game of Monopoly is now getting its comeuppance.

"The Australian housing market, like so many lop-sided economic holidays for the upper end of the market, started with cheap money. Housing prices boomed, loans were easy to get, including the now infamous 'no attempt to conduct proper lending practices' starting in the US and now copied worldwide."

"The housing market will resist downward pressure as much as it can, but the buyers just aren’t there anymore. From hysterical auctions doing $100,000 per bid per 10 seconds to a ragtag few buyers who may not even bid has happened in a year or so."

"The stupidity is proven, many times over. The results are hitting the fan in real money, not paper values. It’s a matter of opinion what happens next, but the message is clear: If you want a workable housing market, don’t do it like this."