House Price Bust: Why Talk of a Bubble Won't Wash

Australia's residential property market defied global trends by avoiding the collapses suffered by other countries during the global downturn. Insulated by a strong local economy, low unemployment, a growing population and government schemes that propped up the first homebuyers' market, Australian house prices slipped only 3% in 2008 as the US and UK recorded double-digit slumps.