The values of GA planes in Australia does seem to have dropped, but this may be largely due to the high Australian Dollar meaning more people are importing planes. Supply up, price down.
I also get the impression a lot of weekend GA people are moving to RAA. Demand down, price down.
The hourly rate GA LAMEs charge seems uneconomically low. I get the impression LAMEs are aggressive in the hours they bill and look for a margin on the parts to compensate for this. Wish maintenance was cheaper, but doesn't seem unreasonable to me.