Victoria takes it all and surpasses New South Wales!
As 2018 closes, it is time to celebrate some wins, the most notable of all being positive consumer sentiment and growth in the number of first home buyer loans. The Australian consumer sentiment index recorded 104.3 points in November 2018, which is above the positive mark of 100 index points and represents a 4.6% growth over the past 12 months. This suggests increasing confidence in the economy, which after a year of federal budgetary and political changes, is a positive way to end the year. A more confident society will have a higher tendency to spend, which will have a positive multiplier effect on the economy as a whole, be it in the retail sector, hospitality, property, and others.
The number of first home buyer loans increased by 20.6% over the past 12 months to the June quarter of 2018, which is a positive indication that the natural property market price corrections cycle and government policies are working. New South Wales continues to be the leader in the market when it comes to first home buyer loans, at 68.8% growth. This is no surprise considering the cooling of the Sydney market, which created a ripple effect on the rest of the New South Wales metro markets, creating a more affordable property market overall.
Home affordability in Australia still needs further attention, as it declined by -2.2% over the past 12 months to the June quarter of 2018. This is mostly led by Tasmania and the Northern Territory, whose affordability declined by -6.0% and -5.7% respectively. This is an unexpected change compared to 24 months ago, in which decreasing affordability was led by New South Wales and Queensland. That said, Australia’s weekly family income increased by 2.4% and the unemployment rate decreased by -7.4%, which will greatly assist in tackling home affordability in 2019.
Victoria proved itself to be a top performer, taking out four gold awards nationally (for highest number of first home buyer loans, most improved unemployment rates, highest growth in median weekly family income, and highest nett migration), two silver awards nationally (for most improved number of first home buyer loans, and highest number of dwelling approvals), and one bronze award nationally (for lowest unemployment rate) in the PRD Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators Awards.
The PRD Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators provide a quick snapshot of the current state of the market in Australia from both an economic and property perspective. The Indicators cover both national and state-level data, comprising of:
- Number of loans to first home buyers
- Home loan affordability index
- Number of dwelling approvals
- Consumer sentiment index
- Standard variable loan
- Consumer price inflation index
- Unemployment rate
- Weekly family income
- Nett migration
View the State and Territory Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators:
- Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators – Western Australia
- Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators – Northern Territory
- Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators – South Australia
- Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators – Queensland
- Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators – New South Wales
- Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators – Australian Capital Territory
- Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators – Victoria
- Q4 2018 Key Market Indicators – Tasmania
