Probably the greatest source of confusion for people trying to make sense of the property market is poor journalism. The latest example comes with the June release of ABS data on building approvals.

When I saw the original press release, when showed an 8% rise in building approvals in April (compared to March), I could have bet my house that shallow newspapers would respond with headlines proclaiming a market recovery - based on nothing more than this one set of monthly figures.

Sure enough, journalists who don't do their jobs obliged. The Daily Telegraph in Sydney, for example, threw the press release into print without any proper scrutiny or analysis, under a headline which stated: "Housing sector bouncing back."

This is nonsense, of course. The building approvals data has been bouncing around for the past nine months or so, with one month up and the next month down, but the overall trend is one of decline.

There was a spike in approvals around July last year, then a big fall in August, then a small increase in September, followed by another large decline in October, followed by ... but you get the picture. It's a roller-coaster ride - but ultimately the ride is downhill.

We've been saying it repeatedly but we're keep saying it: one month's set of figures is irrelevant in terms of significance to the state of the market.

The reality is that building approval levels are currently well below the peak of 2003, when there were 16,500 homes approved in the best months. Right now, approvals are around 12,500 a month and they will need to rise considerably for five or six months before anyone can talk seriously about a "recovery".