Much of the detailed property commentary provided in the Australian market is conducted and presented by analysts a long way from the high street where most property transactions take place.  First National Real Estate has more than 400 members on the ground in cities, suburbs and country towns across Australia.

So, we undertook a survey of our member agents to compile a picture of the property market for Australia overall, on a state-by-state basis and importantly, at the local level.

Consensus amongst our members is that property prices will stabilise and slowly increase.

Supply and demand are still the major issues for the property market.  Not enough dwellings are being built to cater for demand from record levels of population growth.  This will continue to put pressure on rental markets and drive price growth into the near future. 

Two other key factors affecting the property market in Australia over the coming 12 months will be higher interest rates and uncertainty around employment.

Potential exists for employment levels to remain steady, if not grow due to increased demand for Australia’s resources in the mining and agricultural sectors.  However, there is an ongoing impact on many businesses from the Global Financial Crisis, from which Australia’s recovery is still tenuous.

Opportunities exist for investors and second time buyers to upgrade while, despite forecast increases, Australia will continue to enjoy relatively low interest rates.

Tightening lending policies by banks may also impact on the market.

There seems to be some consensus amongst the First National Network’s State Chairs on their outlook for the coming six to twelve months. All, with the exception of Tasmania, predict that there will be ongoing price increases for house, land and units and a rental market that will benefit from ongoing stability, but with the potential for small rent increases.

Disclaimer:  There are many uncertainties in forecasting movements in the market such as government policy changes, interest rate changes and global economies.  Therefore, the forecasts in this report should be taken to be indicative of market directions.  First National takes no responsibility for actions taken on the basis of this report and we encourage all vendors and buyers to conduct their own research.