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Canberra's building boom has outstripped population growth, leading to an emerging housing oversupply, according to a leading economic forecaster.
And BIS Shrapnel, in its annual snapshot of business and population in Australia, says that the end of the good years in the capital's construction trade will combine with Australian Public Service cuts to slow the territory's above-average population growth.

The economic forecaster predicts Canberra is in for a period of falling house prices, decreased household spending, and fewer job vacancies.

Canberra's market for apartments and units could be at ''saturation point'', with the ACT government failing in recent attempts to sell residential land packages zoned for multi-unit development.
The land at Belconnen, Gungahlin and Molonglo failed to sell despite being ripe for development into apartments, shops and offices and being free of the controversial change-of-use charge.
Treasurer Andrew Barr said the lack of takers for the sites was an indication that the market for units and apartments is cooling.
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''We went to the market last week to sell three multi-unit sites and none of them sold,'' he said.
''It would appear in the marketplace right now that units are pretty much at saturation point.''

The 3400sqm Belconnen site that failed to sell could accommodate up to 235 dwellings, offices or shops and has a price tag of $5.75 million.

The median price for a Canberra unit has dropped below $400,000 for the first time since late 2009.
The median price of units sold in the past three months was $397,750, according to figures issued by RP Data-Rismark today.

Technology giant Google has unveiled the world’s first fully driverless
government at a press conference at a factory in Fyshwick.

‘We have completed a two-year pilot of the new driverless government,
which has been running Australia with surprising success the whole time,’
said the project spokesman Wayne Swan. ‘This incredible new way of
governing relies on absolutely no leadership whatsoever, meaning it’s
just perfect for drivers who can’t be bothered or, as in my case, can’t
remember which direction we said we were going in before.’

Senior designer Julia Gillard backed up her colleague’s extraordinary
claims. ‘I have been sitting inactively at the helm of this incredible
driverless vehicle for 18 months now, and it really does need minimal
supervision as far as I can tell.’ Gillard described how the new device
appears to steer itself, although it does rely heavily on
servo-mechanisms, extensive spin technology, and a team of Cabinet
ministers veering about all over the place to self destruct against dangerous
obstacles.
‘But the point is one doesn’t feel like one is doing any work at all,’
she said. ‘So in that sense it’s just like being back at the union.’

The new vehicle is the most successful in a line of mock-up governments
tested by Google over the years. An earlier prototype, available only in
grey, performed with limited success between 1996 and 2007, when it
accidentally imploded in a ball of hubris just as it reached full
throttle. And a second 18 month trial achieved significant
speeds early on but fuel economy ratings were disastrous and eventually it
just drove itself into the ground.

‘Let us be absolutely clear about this, it is the way of the future,’
said Gillard. ‘At least until November 2013, when this prototype version will
probably just junk itself and we’ll all try to forget we ever thought it
could work.’