Australian policy makers have two housing markets to worry about, and it's a toss up which carries the most risk.
One is too cold, the other too hot. One they can't do anything about as it is in China, the other is a home grown headache the authorities are just starting to wrestle with.
How they unfold will have lasting ramifications for Australia's economy and interest rates.
"There are two prices that matter for Australia right now, those for homes and those for commodities, said Paul Bloxham, chief economist for Australia at HSBC.
"Since the Chinese housing market is such a driver of demand for commodities, it matters just as much in the big picture as the domestic market," he added.
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The property sector accounts for about 15 percent of China's economy and impact some 40 industries from furniture to steel, is of increasing concern to Beijing as it drags on growth.
The alarm is shared by Australia as over 35 percent of its exports go to China, giving it an annual trade surplus worth around A$50 billion with the Asian giant.
Such is its importance that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintains one of only three international offices in Beijing and produces copious research on China's economy.
RBA Governor Glenn Stevens recently nominated falling Chinese house prices and their possible impact on the shadow banking sector there as one of his key concerns.
The bank devoted a chunk of its bi-annual report on China's financial system to highlight the risks, noting that around half of all new credit created in recent years had come from outside the regulated sector.
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"Concerns about asset quality in China have been heightened by softening conditions in the residential property market," said the central bank in last week's report.
"While China has been able to manage a small number of defaults in trust funds and corporate bonds, a more widespread series of private-sector defaults - potentially associated with a sharp correction in property prices - could be more damaging."
Even if the financial fallout is contained, any weakness in home building would be a negative for Australia since the sector is a major user of steel, and thus iron ore - Australia's single biggest export earner.
China's steel consumption has already dropped this year for the first time since at least 2000, leading to a more than 40 percent plunge in prices of the steel making mineral.
Reconsidering rules on lending
So it was welcome news in Australia when reports emerged last week that Beijing was allowing banks and regional governments to relax their mortgage rules.