So all eyes should be on New Zealand. According to Brian White, Chairman of Ray White, the NZ housing market is historically 12 months ahead of Australia when it comes to booms and busts.

Right now the NZ market (outside of Auckland) is shaky. ANZ Bank economist, Mark Smith, says that basically NZ house approvals have “flat lined” for the first half of the year.

In June, housing approvals took a big hit, down 4.1 per cent seasonally adjusted on May approvals.

Last month, here in Sydney, homes selling by auction dropped 9.1 per cent in value. The senior economist with Domain Group, Dr Andrew Wilson, (pictured) said the market “is clearly on the turn."

Our prediction however is that village sales will hold up for the medium term because not enough new stock is being built – about 2,600 new units this year which is small compared to the population growth aged 75+.

Prices should hold up too if salespeople don’t lose their nerve. What do you see in your local market?