But there was really nothing in that part of the statement that should have surprised anyone. Up to one-fifth of Melbourne's apartments are estimated to be empty, and nearly 90,000 in Sydney. Credit:Angela Wylie However, Glenn Stevens did take the opportunity to again ring a warning bell about the danger of an oversupply of apartments. Rising prices "Dwelling prices have begun to rise again recently," Stevens said.

"But considerable supply of apartments is scheduled to come on stream over the next couple of years, particularly in the eastern capital cities." Nod nod, wink wink – the governor is suggesting the resurgence in dwelling prices won't last, that too many apartments are being built in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The jawbone has just been applied to those who want to speculate on housing. You've been warned. And not for the first time. The RBA first began to sound nervous about Melbourne and Brisbane CBD units a couple of years ago.

Its financial stability review gave it another run in April: "An ongoing risk comes from the significant and geographically concentrated growth in supply of new apartments in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane due for completion over the next few years. "This new supply may weigh on prices and rents in these areas. If that occurs, investors will need to service their mortgages while earning lower rental income and any households facing difficulties making repayments may not be able to resolve their situation easily by selling the property. This is one reason why it remains important to have prudent lending standards ahead of such a possibility. "For the developers of these apartments, risks appear to have increased since the previous review. With demand for apartments softening in some areas, particularly in Brisbane and Perth, and households facing tighter access to credit, settlement failures might increase. A downturn in apartment markets could weaken the financial health of these developers." The FSR wasn't forecasting a fall in apartment prices, but if you highlight "an ongoing risk" enough, you sort-of do.

More caution And two weeks ago, the governor himself left no doubt about his residential real estate caution. In Q&A after his address, it was put to Stevens that in 2010 he went on Channel Seven's Sunrise program, warning investors not to bet that real estate prices would always keep rising. "Given what you've seen since that time and at the moment, are you able to update your advice?" he was asked. "I'd give the same advice," replied Stevens.

"I think the assumption that there's an easy road to riches through leveraged holdings of real estate, it strikes me that however much that may have succeeded for some in the past, that is not a great strategy and prices can fall. They have fallen. "I think while I've been in this job we've seen them fall two or three times. "So I think that's something that always needs to be in people's minds. So my advice wouldn't change even though prices today are noticeably higher than when I first said those things." So the mention in today's statement is nothing if not consistent. Policy split

And it's an interesting pebble to toss into the election campaign pond. One side is actively encouraging "ordinary" Australians to buy investment properties using negative gearing, just when the RBA is issuing warnings about apartment prices. The other side wants to push investors into only buying new housing. So it goes. But the RBA's June decision statement also fits with some of the backroom pressure applied to the major banks. According to a finance broker specialising in would-be developers, it's much easier to get money from banks to build units in Adelaide than anywhere else at present.

The benefit of not having a boom is that the RBA doesn't think you'll have a bust.