CSR says housing market has softened

Building products maker and sugar refiner CSR Ltd says the Australian housing market has softened in the past three months.

"It is clear in the last three months there has been a softening in the housing market outlook," CSR managing director Jerry Maycock said outside the company's annual general meeting on Thursday.

"NSW remains pretty soft, and we're seeing some reduction in confidence in Queensland which had been one of the fast growing states."

"In Victoria, things are looking a little better but still some softening of sentiment."

Mr Maycock said lower consumer confidence levels coupled with high interest rates was denting the housing market.

"Overall it is a combination of sentiment, interest rates, house prices remaining high and just general consumer confidence which seems to have take the wind out of the sails of the market," he said.

Mr Maycock also downplayed recent falls in CSR's share price, saying the decline had been part of an overall market trend.

"That is symptomatic of the general sentiment in the sharemarket where people are very sensitive to anything they perceive as bad news and there tends to be overreaction," he said.

CSR said earlier on Thursday that it expects group earnings before interest and tax rise by more than five per cent in the financial year ending March 2009.

CSR shares were down 32.5 cents, or 14.07 per cent, to $1.985 on Thursday, because its guidance missed analysts expectations for a rise of about 14 per cent.