HomeMate.com.au

Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] show that the number of new dwelling being constructed fell by 5.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, 4 times worse than economists were expecting. Single dwelling new homes were hit hardest. So it was felt as lower construction loans with mortgage brokers and banks everywhere. But that does not explain the reason for the new home construction slide.
That was after a fall of 13 per cent in home construction of all types in the September quarter. Victoria and South Australia recorded the most significant falls, but Queensland is hurting more right now.

Whilst I recommend the article, there is a annoying reference to mortgage brokers at the beginning of the article that riles me, here.

Mortgage brokers hip deep in profits handed out no-doc mortgages to people with fictional incomes. Wall Street shopped bundles of those loans to investors, no matter how unappetizing the details. And federal regulators gave sleepy nods.
That world largely collapsed under the weight of its improbabilities in 2008.

First home buyers are allegedly forward dating contracts to illegally claim the boosted first-home grant. Some dodgy real estate agents and mortgage brokers are encouraging the fraud, suggesting buyers change the date of existing contracts to fall after October 14 so they qualify for the latest lucrative federal government grants. Forward-dating contracts could net first-home [...]