Property prices could crash by a massive 60 per cent as 'political and social revolution brings on another great depression' predicts economist – and it could start in WEEKS

• American economist Harry Dent says housing prices will drop by 30-60 per cent
• He predicted Australia's stocks will crash by up to 80 per cent in just weeks
• The author also warned of a Depression hitting Australia in five years 

A leading American economist who correctly predicted the 2008 financial crisis has claimed Australian housing prices will plummet by 30 to 60 per cent when the country's stocks crash 'just weeks from now'.

Harry Dent has predicted Australia's stocks will crash by up to 80 per cent in the coming days, creating an opportune time in the housing market for home buyers to snap up properties. 

The author also warned of a global real estate and stock market crash between the end of the year and 2020, according to News.com.au.   

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'Your problem is you've got the second highest real estate costs compared to income in the world. I see Australia as the best house in a bad neighbourhood, but you can't escape a global crisis,' he said. 

'I think this time your real estate will come back 20, 30, 40, 50 per cent. That's good.'

'When young people have to pay 12 times their incomes for a house, that's not good, so this is where the reset needs to come. I think you will have a recession this time.'

Last week, Mr Dent told Daily Mail Australia one in three Australians could be unemployed within the next five years like the 1930s Great Depression.

Mr Dent said he fears a repeat of the 1929 stock market crash could hit Australia, unleashing the worst economic catastrophe in almost 90 years that saw millions of people with no savings or work living on the streets and queuing for food.

'That was the greatest crash in modern history. This is going to be on that level – and again, this is once in a lifetime and that is why people don't see it coming,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.

'I see in the next two, three, even five years a period like the 1930s.' 

During the Great Depression one-third, or 32 per cent, of working age Australians were jobless in an era before there was a national unemployment benefit.

A repeat of that economic calamity would see a jobless rate that is almost six times higher than the present level of 5.5 per cent as business confidence fails to recover from a stock market wipe out.

With virtually every working Australian now having their savings tied up in shares as part of the nation's $2 trillion superannuation sector, a global equity market bubble could also leave many people with no wealth.

However, the financial expert said people who held their savings in cash would be poised to buy 'great financial assets' for a bargain as share prices crashed.

Dent said Australia's expensive real estate prices meant the big banks would be at great risk of collapse without a government bailout.

'Australia has two problems. Its very high real estate prices which is going to affect consumer debts and banks,' he said. 

China is also Australia's biggest trading partner, which means the local economy is particularly susceptible to any downturn in the Chinese economy.

'The fact that China is their biggest trading partner and I see China as being the biggest bubble to burst,' he said. 

Mr Dent also claimed Australia had the second most overvalued share market in the world.

However, he said Australia's high net annual immigration rate - which at 1.6 per cent is significantly higher than the world average of 1.1 per cent -  meant the nation would have a large working age population for future decades.  

'Australia has such strong immigration both in quantity and quality and largely coming from Asia that they are one of the few developed countries in the world that have a larger millennial generation to follow and strong demographic growth for the future,' he said.

Harry Dent is currently touring Australia promoting his new book Zero Hour, and tickets can be bought online here.