Foreclosures down under

The foreclosure crisis hits Australia ... Fuel prices hit homeowners, with record Brisbane defaults

"National Shelter chairman Adrian Pisarski said the figures demonstrated the compounding effect of high petrol prices on already financially stressed homebuyers.

"It always seems to be in areas poorly serviced by public transport," he said.

"People there are double-whammied. Their housing costs are going up and their transport costs are very high because they are car dependent.

"I think many households would cope with one or the other, but not both.""