A review of Australia's property market shows positive and encouraging data. Both Residex and RPData statistics are currently
indicating that Australian house prices are on the rise again, or at
least that they have stabilised.
Conditions in Australia seem to be better than in the UK or USA. Population growth is stronger, quality overseas migrants, interest rates are the main factors, along with the fact that we have never had the oversupply of housing that the USA has had.
The recent Australian property boom, which
ended in 2003, was characterised primarily by the exchange of existing
stock, rather than the development of new stock. In other words, it was
not a construction-led boom (unlike the recent boom in the USA). This
means we now have a shortage of stock in many high-demand locations as
we move into the next growth cycle during a period of record population
growth, record low vacancy rates, and rising rents.
One critical factor is interest rates. Whereas the UK and USA banks have generally retained a large slice of the
official rate cuts for themselves, rather than passing it on to the
consumer, in Australia 375 of the first 425 basis
points worth of cuts were passed on. The Reserve Bank has been very proactive at cutting rates, before property prices starting falling.
This is all good news for a battered property market.
Join the discussion on Trends & Where to Buy
|