Oct 22, 2018
Much of my writing is devoted to correcting the misinformation on real estate which abounds in media.
The hallmark of pretenders who pontificate on property without
expertise is their view of Australia as a single market.
Media abounds with non-experts making predictions about “Australian
house prices”. Economists and the ratings agencies are the worst
offenders. To generalise about Australia as a single market is
nonsensical, given the size and complexity of the nation and its
many different real estate markets.
The past 5 years have demonstrated the point well. The eight
capital cities have had 4 distinct scenarios:
Two have had prolonged price booms lasting 4-5 years, one has shown
solid price growth in the past two years, but not a prolonged boom,
two have been in steady decline, with prices and rents falling, and
three have plodded along with small annual rises in
prices.
Regional Australia has also exhibited various scenarios, dictated
by local conditions:
Now we are moving into a period of change, but with the same level
of complexity and variety.