Why Australian property confidence is up
Friday 27th of January 2012
A new survey has found that property market participants have more confidence in the prospects for homes in Australia’s resource-rich regions than in other areas of the country.
The survey found that ‘there was increasing divergence in property industry confidence across the states with confidence highest in the Northern Territory.
Confidence growing fastest in Northern Territory
The latest Property Council of Australia (PCA) - ANZ Property Industry Confidence Survey found that certain areas of the country were proving more popular with property buyers and sellers than others.
ANZ and the PCA report that ‘resource-sector states (WA [Western Australia], Queensland, Northern Territory, South Australia) are indicating the greatest confidence, while Victoria, ACT [Australian Capital Territory] and Tasmania are indicating the lowest confidence.’
The biggest jump in confidence over the last quarter has been in the Northern Territory, home to Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs. Next come Western Australian and Queensland, which both recorded strong gains.
Conversely, confidence fell in Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT, which do not have strong ties to the resources boom.
Property market participants have least confidence in Tasmania due to poor job prospects, decreasing tourism and a weak property market.
The report says: “The data indicate the significant negative impact of ongoing economic and global financial market uncertainty that is weighing on housing market confidence and expectations.”
Outlook for Property In Australia broadly positive
While ANZ expects house prices across Australia to fall slightly in 2012, its outlook is broadly positive, particularly as the bank expects the Royal Bank of Australia to cut interest rates further in the second quarter of 2012.
According to Property Observer, ANZ maintains a “cautiously optimistic medium-term house price view supported by a robust economic outlook, limited forced selling, improved affordability and an ongoing tightening of the Australian housing demand/supply balance”.
