30-year mortgages approach 2003 rates - 2004-03-18
Mortgage rates dropped again this week, with the benchmark 30-year mortgages approaching last year's rates, which were the lowest in over four decades. Rates for one-year adjustable mortgages set a new record low.

The average rate on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 5.38 percent, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday in its weekly nationwide survey of mortgage rates.
Read the full story at News Observer

Orderly fall forecasted in Australian house prices - 2004-03-18
Australian property prices will decrease by an orderly 10 to 15 per cent before flattening over the next two years, averting a harsh crash, according to Aussie Home Loans.

The median price for a Sydney house reached A$500,000 ($568,000) in the fourth quarter. It now takes 30 per cent of family income to pay a mortgage in Australia, according to the median of a survey from AMP Banking and the Real Estate Institute of Australia.
Read the full story at New Zealand Business