A report from the Daily Telegraph in Australia. "Sydney’s supply of properties for sale has hit a decade high this summer as weakening buyer demand creates a growing backlog of unsold housing. Buyer’s agent Peter Kelaher said a long listing period tended to 'turn off' buyers. 'It may have been priced too high in the beginning, but by the time the owners (cut the price) it’s too late,' he said."

"The drop pushed the median price of a Harbour City home down to about $789,000, well below the more than $900,000 it was in mid-2017 when the market was peaking. A five-bedroom house in North Kellyville has been up for sale since November 2017, while a house on nearby Foxall Rd has been for sale since May 2016. In that time, the prices for these homes have dropped by up to $250,000."

The Australian Financial Review. "More than a third of all Melbourne housing lots advertised online are re-sales by buyers who can't get financing or speculators trying to flip sites prior to settlement, according to research by RPM Real Estate Group."

"The group, which sells lots across dozens of estates in Melbourne and Geelong, said the secondary land market had 'peaked' and prices could fall as settlement looms and buyers try to sell to avoid losing their deposits. Separate to these figures nearly 1000 lots are being resold on classifieds website Gumtree, suggesting well over 3000 lots are being resold in a market where total annual lot sales have fallen to about 10,000 from a peak of 24,000 about 18 months ago."

"RPM's head of communities Luke Kelly said just over half (53 per cent) of resale lots identified in December had since settled which could indicate they were bought by genuine investors or even owner-occupiers who could no longer get finance to complete construction or whose circumstances have changed forcing them to sell."

"'We could assume the other 1200 resales – which are yet to settle – are buyers in a similar position along with speculators who sought to cash in on the significant price growth over the last few years,' Mr Kelly said."

The Nikkei Asian Review. "Australia's gross domestic product grew just 0.2% in the October-December quarter of 2018 from the preceding period, weighed down by declining exports and a housing slump, raising concerns about the health of its China-reliant economy."

"A slowdown in housing starts also took a toll as real estate prices headed south. Economic conditions in China, which purchases roughly 30% of Australia's exports in value terms, figure largely in the Australian economy."

"More than 80% of the country's iron ore exports, a key product along with coal, head to China. Australian iron ore, which emits fewer air pollutants than rival products, is thought to enjoy steady demand. 'But if Chinese demand falls, some fallout will be inevitable,' says a source at a Japanese company."

From Eleven Media Group. "The National People’s Congress of China began Tuesday in Beijing. This year is a milestone, marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and the economy is the main focus of attention at the NPC, China’s national legislature"

"The myth of growth in which auto and housing sales continue to support the economy has collapsed. This article will explore the actual situation in the country. 'We only sold 500 vehicles last year, and so incurred a loss of 800,000 yuan (about ¥13.2 million.) It’s the worst figure since we started operations,' said Zhu Dawei, a general manager of a sales outlet of U.S.-based automaker General Motors in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. The outlet was empty without any customers."

"In 2018, five years after Xi took office, the auto market was shaken significantly. The country’s new car sales declined by 2.8 percent year on year to 28.08 million units, falling below the previous year’s level for the first time in 28 years."

"The effects of the economic slowdown have extended to the real estate market. Last autumn, high-rise condominiums built along a coast were put on sale in Xiamen, Fujian Province. The price per square meter for a unit with two bedrooms and a living-dining room is 26,000 yuan (about ¥430,000). That is a reasonable price in Xiamen, where housing prices have remained high, but only a few people have visited there for the purpose of buying them."

"'Actually, we’re selling the condominiums below cost,' a man in charge of the sales said. Explaining the reason for the low prices, he said, 'Considering the construction costs, we want to sell units for 40,000 yuan (about ¥660,000) per square meter, but we can’t hold on to the inventory.'"

"In Xiamen, unsold homes have piled up to a value equivalent to total transactions for 18 months. The housing market is deteriorating nationwide. According to Chinese media, the floor space of homes sold fell 9 percent year on year in Beijing in 2018, and 4 percent year on year in Shanghai in the same year."