This economic growth, of course, comes at a price. The previous 5 or 6 years of boom have been financed by compliant home-owning consumer happily re-mortgaging regularly, and using cash so released from their rapidly appreciating homes to purchase goods and services that would otherwise have been regarded as expensive luxuries. At some point, that cash would need to be repaid, and gamble was that boom would continue long enough so that rising salaries and general inflation would reduce cost of this borrowing to manageable levels.

The tipping point appears to have been reached towards end of summer 2004, however, far sooner than hoped for by world governments basking in reflected glow of easy prosperity. Analysts at www.mortgagedown.com point out that in most countries, house price boom has run out of steam and has begun downward swing towards normality, and consumer spending boom that accompanied it has necessarily come to a dead stop too. Across world, realtors and estate agents bemoan fact that sales volumes have dropped by 60% or more, and that 'something must be done' or there will be 'dire consequences'. For estate agents and a very small minority, true. But not for majority!

What do I mean by this? Simple. For majority of population, a house price crash is either irrelevant, or just what doctor ordered. Lets look at various groups to see exactly why this is true.

The first group are 'first time buyers'. These are a relatively small group of people who do not currently own - they rent, or live with friends and family. This group also include people who DID own, but have sold up and exited market, converting their paper gains into hard cash. As first time buyers are priced out of market almost everywhere, and 'STR' group are effectively priced out by their beliefs, they have everything to gain from a substantial house price fall. It will allow them to purchase property, where they currently can not.