Tighter underwriting standards and higher debt service burdens continue to sap Australian housing prices, weakening a sector which provided crucial support as mining’s role in the economy diminished in recent years.

Falling house prices and rising debt-servicing costs may constrain household consumption.

Investors who overreact to the prospect of rising interest rates may be doing themselves, and their investment portfolios, a disservice.

It’s time to diversify and focus on bottom-up analysis.