Property in Australia
Some of Australia’s traditional east coast property strongholds may be taking a bit of a battering at the moment, but as one door closes another opens, in this case in the form of Western Australia, which is currently seeing some truly astonishing growth in what is proving to be a booming property market.
Prices for Australian Property from £50,280
Key facts
- Population: 20,090,400
- Capital: Canberra
- Approx. exchange rate: £1=$2.5 €1=$1.7
- Visas: Yes
- Time difference: +8 to +10 GMT
- Flight time from UK: Around 24 hours
- Major airports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
- Dialling code: 00 61
Property in Australia
There is both good news and bad news when it comes to the Australian property market’s current state of health. The bad news is that, on the back of rising interest rates, a tight rental market and irregular nationwide house prices, the market overall is experiencing something of a downturn in its fortunes.
In fact, the Australian Finance Group has found that in Brisbane house values are starting to slide below that of homeowners’ mortgages, leading them into the dreaded negative equity situation. The Australian Finance Group has also noted a decline in house prices in Melbourne, Victoria, and even more so in Sydney. The good news is that, despite this slump that is causing much distress in the south-east, Western Australia’s housing market is positively thriving.
According to a report by Mortgage Choice and REIA Real Estate Market Facts, figures for the June quarter of 2006 showed a house price increase of a whopping 33.9 per cent in Western Australia when compared with the same period in 2005. And while this may not be of much comfort to struggling homeowners in Sydney, it does provide a food for thought for any Brits who might be scouting out potential areas with investment or emigration in mind. Given the current economic situation, Dave Ames, of Harlequin Property, believes that Perth and the surrounding areas are the hotpots to look out for.
“Western Australia, in particular, is showing the largest capital growth of any part of Australia and is outperforming Sydney quite substantially,” says Ames. “In fact Mandurah, which is approximately 50 minutes south of Perth, has the highest capital growth rate of property in the whole of Australia.” And it seems that an increasing number of Brits are setting their sights on Western Australia, rather than the traditional destinations of the south-east. “Because of the quality of life in Western Australia, British people who are looking to emigrate are choosing Western Australia more and more,” says Ames.
Search for 1000s of Australian properties online at www.aplaceinthesun.com
