Property prices in Australia have fallen again, with the average price of a home slipping by 2.4% during September, according to reports.
This follows six months of falling house prices and means that Australian property prices are now at their lowest for some years.
Despite modest gains in New South Wales and Western Australia, property in Queensland and Victoria saw significant drops that managed to pull down the country's average.
Demand for property remains strongest in inner city locations, with the most popular being those that cost less than $500,000 AUD. However it is waning overall due to a mixture of high construction costs, poor employment levels in the country and high interest rates. Many Australians are also struggling to get a mortgage due to credit restrictions. Analysts believe the market won't regain traction until 2012, and that property prices are not set to return to normal until September 2013.
In the meantime, rental growth has increased month on month as Australians increasingly turn to the rental market to provide an answer to their housing dilemmas. As a result, the market is an ideal one for overseas property investors, who could find they are able to snap up a bargain and have a guaranteed rental income from a second home.
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