Property Investment in Australia

Thinking of investing abroad? Australia may be a good option. Many of us have relatives and friends in this prosperous developed country. Australia has a multicultural society and is quoted as the second best place to live in the world. U.S. publication International Living has published its 2010 Quality of Life Index, which ranks 194 countries based on their quality of life. The index looks at nine categories: cost of living; culture and leisure; economy; environment; freedom; health; infrastructure; safety and risk; and climate.

Australia ranks No.2 : Countrywide access to an active and healthy lifestyle. Urban dwellers enjoy plenty of great culture, excellent food and a favorable cost of living.

For investment purpose, more importantly is the performance of Australia’s property market.

Australia property sales hit record

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1 March 2010 - Australian real estate prices are rising strongly and show no signs of abating, analysts said Monday, after weekly sales in one state hit a record 1.025 billion dollars (920 million US).

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria said last week saw "the largest dollar volume of transactions ever recorded" amid growing confidence in the economy as people took advantage of low interest rates.

"We've seen more physical sales in a week period, but never have they passed the billion dollar mark," research manager Robert Larocca told AFP.

"So that's partly a sign of how strong the market is and it's also a sign that people are spending more than they have in the past."

Larocca said the surge in sales was the result of historically low interest rates following the global financial crisis and the growing population in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, outstripping available housing.

"People are confident, they are confident because the economy is going much better than they expected it to," he added. David Airey, president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA), said Melbourne was one of the country's strongest markets but noted that Australian property prices were in general very strong and rising.

"The property market in all Australian capital cities has had a rapid recovery from mid-2009 on, and noticeably in Melbourne and Sydney with property prices rising quite significantly over that six month period," he said.

"I think that will be reflected again this quarter with further growth in all capital cities." Airey said Australians felt property was a safe investment, with median house prices rising by 18.5 percent in Melbourne and around the country by more than 12 percent in 2009.

"And it's difficult to see this current period of growth stalling, unless it's caused by external factors and significant higher interest rates," he said. The average Australian house cost 334,100 dollars in 2005 and the REIA estimate for 2010 is 481,310 dollars.

By AFP – StarProperty

However, we still need to be careful when investing in property (all the more for oversea property). Read more on property investments – the leverage factor here.