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Australia beckoning strong signs of a property rebound - Periodic market cycle or a whole new ‘ball game’?
Looking beyond economic pessimism to cyclicality of the Australian property market and its capacity to rebound
Australia’s property market has turned the corner after surviving one of its most challenging years, with the global credit crisis causing major upheavals down under and its full impact yet to be felt. Post an extended ‘bull run’ decade, fuelled by offshore buying sprees and debt binges, the bruised and battered real estate industry has since witnessed $51 billion wiped off the total worth of its assets under management as falling property values, sales and corporate collapses take their toll.
How then has Australia fared in containing business damages from the trickling effects of the protracted downturn? Despite mixed practitioner sentiments, most metropolitan property sectors are expected to bottom out by 2010 with residential real estate leading the pack and commercial realty poised for an anticipated upswing.
“Global investors are attracted to the sound fundamentals of Australian real estate, which compares favourably against major offshore markets in terms of stability, transparency and investment performance...”
Backed by a relatively strong economy, banking system and effective government stimulus packages, Australia is commonly viewed as a ‘safe haven’ with unusual growth prospects and little recessionary woes. However, given recent market divergence, would investors be in for more pain before things take a positive turn and yield expectations delivered?
Both domestic and foreign players have shown an increasing appetite for Australian realty, presenting the window of opportunity for asset acquisition and disposal as corporates offload properties in a bid to de-leverage. Evidently, repositioning property portfolios and refining long-term investment strategies will prove crucial in boosting investor confidence when sustainable recovery gets underway and market transactions regain momentum.
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Dr. Frank Gelber
Andrew Bird
Robert Hattersley
Craig Turnbull 
Ian Mackie 
Sonya Sawtell-Rickson
