Buying property in Australia at the moment would appear to be highly risky. I was hesitant back in 2002, and it's far worse now. The only thing that has kept prices high is the incredible increase in rent, which I'm still struggling to fathom. In 2004 I was renting a 110^m 2 bedroom apartment on the Brisbane river for $780 a month.
Australia has managed to inflate their housing market further, thanks to government intervention, and it seems that it needs to pop at some point. Long term, these types of capital gains in housing are unprecedented.
Brisbane is an interesting case. Between about 1992 and 2002, property in the city went basically nowhere value wise. I bought a property in 2001 for 20% less than the owner had paid in 1994. Then, in about 2002/2003, it nearly doubled overnight and has never looked like going back. I foolishly sold a house in 2002 which was listed 2 years later and brought more than double the price I had bought it for. It's again in a long slow slump (compared with inflation) - this is likely to persist for some years. So your experience exactly covers the period of greatest growth in Brisbane.
I agree with you, though, current conditions make it risky. However for the OP now would be a good time to convert some USD into well-located Australian property.
Australia has managed to inflate their housing market further, thanks to government intervention, and it seems that it needs to pop at some point. Long term, these types of capital gains in housing are unprecedented.
Here's a good summary. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_property_bubble