Australia's Property Slump Casts Doubt on Household Spending
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Australia’s falling house prices are raising doubts about the resilience of household spending.
There are signs of weakness emerging, with data Friday showing retail sales growth tumbled sharply in the third quarter. Australians were happy to fund higher spending by putting away less savings as the value of their homes increased. But when prices drop, as they have nationwide for 13 months, building a buffer traditionally becomes the priority over shopping.