A rebound in the Western Australian housing market is just around the corner, with a majority of Western Australians predicting local property prices will rise over the next year.
The latest Curtin Business School-CCI Survey of Consumer Confidence provides good news for current home owners and property investors, but means it will be even harder for some Western Australians to break into the housing market.
The latest quarterly survey, which is the State’s first and only assessment of consumer sentiment, sought the views of more than 400 people across the State.
Three quarters of respondents expect to see higher property prices by the end of the year.
People earning in excess of $100,000 were the most optimistic about a recovery in the local property market, and are most likely to make a purchase over the next 12 months.
People living in the Perth metropolitan area are more confident that prices will rise than those in regional areas.
With housing prices set to rise, the issue of housing affordability is back on the agenda. One third of households said they are not planning to buy property this year because they can not afford to.
Affordability is a big issue for younger Western Australians with more than 40 per cent saying the high cost is preventing them from buying their own home.
CCI Chief Economist John Nicolaou said, “ensuring there is enough affordable housing for our rapidly growing population will be one of the biggest challenges facing the State. With severe labour shortages just around the corner, businesses are concerned that the high cost of housing in WA will discourage many workers moving to WA.”
Despite the end of the Federal Government’s stimulus package and several recent interest rate rises, WA consumers remain upbeat.
Nearly 80 per cent of those surveyed believe the WA economy will gather pace throughout the year, and more optimistic about their personal finances and job prospects. Nationally, consumer confidence has either been flat or declining.
Nearly one in three respondents said that they are financially better off compared to a year ago, with younger people and those on high incomes reporting the greatest improvement.
Meanwhile, the jobs market has continued to improve. More than a fifth of Western Australians believe their ability to get a job is better than a year ago.