The recap of this weeks mortgage, home loan and housing news in Australia.

Here is top stories for the week ending 08/06/08:

Survey finds record slump in house prices
news.com.au
Produced quarterly the Mortgage Choice / Real Estate Market Facts indicates housing prices have have cooled off a little. The report which surveys the capitals and major regional cities states there has been a 2.7% fall from the last quarter to the current March quarter although rents are rising. View Article »

Inquiry as Goliaths muscle in on loans
The Age
Is competition in the home loan market dying off? The House of Representatives Economics Committee is set to conduct an inquiry. View Article »

Four Pillars lend stability
The Australian
Alan Wood takes a look at the Treasurer Wayne Swans recent announcement of reaffirming the ‘Four Pillars’ policy. Many of the banks have been asking for removal or at east review of the policy which blocks mergers between the four major banks. View Article »

You feel helpless, when shame hits
The Daily Telegraph
Justin Vallejo reports on a story of a family going through a mortgagee repossession under the pressure from rising rates and loss of income. View Article »

Housing market under pressure
Courier Mail
There have been headlines about the rental crisis for months, but you have to experience it first-hand to get an inkling of just how tough it is for prospective tenants writes Noel Whitaker looking at the housing affordability crisis and expresses concerns over government policies to tackle the problem. View Article »

The Battlers are in Trouble
Business Spectator
Get ready for some really nasty data on home loan mortgage difficulties and, with it, popular television and print items showing family devastation writes Robert Gottliebsen View Article »

Interest rates need to stay high: OECD
ABC Online
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says interest rates in Australia will need to stay high, despite predicting a further slowing in the economy. View Article »

In the OECD report:

“After reaching 4% in 2007, economic activity is likely to slow to below 3% in 2008 and 2009 because of tighter financial conditions and the worsening external environment. This should ease pressures on the labour market and bring inflation down to under 3% by the end of 2009.”

The OCECD report can be viewed here.

RBA concedes commodities will maintain inflation heat
The Age
THE Reserve Bank is placing enormous emphasis on its strategy to tackle inflation by cooling the demand growth of the economy reports Scott Murdoch. View Article »

RBA Leaves Rates on Hold
RBA Statement on Monetary Policy - View Release »

“Given the opposing forces at work, considerable uncertainty remains about the outlook for demand and inflation. On balance, the Board’s current assessment is that demand growth will be moderate this year. In the short term, inflation is likely to remain relatively high, but it should decline over time provided demand evolves as expected. Should demand not slow as expected, or should expectations of high ongoing inflation begin to affect wage and price setting, that outlook would need to be reviewed.”