The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

New Zealand house prices p... weak

NZ house prices fell by 0.6% in the month of December, although in seasonally-adjusted terms I am pretty sure this would be a flat outcome. The chart below from JP Morgan shows the relationship between time on market (inverted) and price action. The slow but steady retrenchment in the Australian and New Zealand house price-to-income ratios will only help to improve valuations and assuage long-standing concerns about asset-class instability.

at 11:06 AM