IF and only if you can get a bond and put down 10% to 20% deposit nuh? Not too many punters that can do that. Let's see, I'm paying 30% rent to the value of a bond repayment on the 'market valuation' of the pad I'm living in. No brainer there, I'll rent, and I negotiated my rent increment at 5% since I consider this a deflationary environment. And next year I simply will not accept a rent increase, or else I'll move on and find another place. Lot's of empty pads standing around. No argument from the estate agent of course. Nee wat, house prices are coming down, a lot, and it's nowhere near the bottom. Either people have to earn about 200% more or house prices have to come down by 50% to get a 3 x annual income average parity before it's affordable. Bubble's take as long to pop as they inflated and for property that's a decade. Price deflation started end 2004, so that leaves us at least till 2014 for property values to stabilise. I've been having a good laff at a couple auctions. It's so obvious that the banks, agents and the unfortunate foreclosed owners are trying their best to 'bid' up the prices. Though, the 'developers' have now disappeared and the agents are no longer picking up inventory so that leaves the vultures, and they're quite wise to these shennanigans. They just stand there and eyeball the auctioneer and they simply don't bid until the bid price reverses and comes down at least 50% off the asking price, which are mostly pegged to the elevated levels we saw in 2007. Don't believe me? Go see for yourself, check the Sunday papers auctions section and attend one. Anyone who now buys a house at more than 50% of the asking price of 2007 deserves to burn his fingers.