Property News Update

The prestige market looks to be strengthening. Despite a slow start in 2013, premium housing could outperform the broader market according to RP Data research analyst Cameron Kusher. Figures show the county’s most expensive suburbs recorded a value growth of 4.1 per cent for the last quarter, exceeding the results for both middle and affordable suburbs during the same period. Kusher says this result telegraphs a promising outlook for premium property, and is another marker of an early growth phase in the country’s real estate cycle generally. It seems that there’s still strong demand from Australian tenants too. The Housing Industry Association says vacancy rates have remained historically tight around the country. The Association released a discussion paper finding vacancy rates were being impacted by restrictive financing guidelines, which are delaying home ownership for many households and adding to higher rental inflation. The Association says while the GFC saw a loosening of capacity in the rental market in 2008, vacancies began to tighten again in late 2009, with the trend continuing to today’s market. And finally – it looks like Queensland property professionals are feeling good about the future too. The Property Industry Confidence Index to December 2013, a joint initiative of The Property Council and ANZ bank, found sentiment in Queensland had risen 25 points to score 142 on their scale. A score of 100 is considered confidence neutral, so that’s a great result for the maroons. Queensland recorded the highest shift in sentiment of any state or territory, and is now tied with New South Wales as the most positive state in country, so it looks like the sunshine state continues to live up to its name.