Understanding ‘Asian Century’ key to investment success in 2014
Making money through property in Australia in 2014 will largely rely on understanding Asia’s changing demographics and economy, according to a leading buyer’s advocate.
Speaking at a recent Smart Property Investment roundtable, Propertyology’s Simon Pressley said property is all about economics – and Australia’s proximity to Asia will heavily influence the property market over the next few years.
“I’ve got a fascination with the ‘Asian Century’. If you want to make money, you need to study the ‘Asian Century’ because it’s massive. You’re talking 2.5 billion people entering the middle class between 2010 and 2030,” he said.
“Australia has pretty much everything they want. Understanding what they want, and the process they need to get it, directly relates to jobs in this country. Where there’s a job, there’s demand for accommodation.”
Mr Pressley said cities the size of Brisbane were being constructed in six months in China, which would continue to drive the country’s appetite for steel, iron ore and coal. However, it’s not just natural resources that will drive the changing markets.
“Going forward, they want education. They want agriculture. Keep a close eye on northern Australia – you’re going to see a lot of that investment. There are going to be cities that will pop up over time because of that,” he said.
Mr Pressley also said he was "exceptionally confident" that tourism would be the next industry to boom as a result Asia’s influence.
“There are going to be several more casinos in Australia over the next few years,” he said. “They’re not going to be the basic casino; they’re going to be for the high rollers… building them is going to create thousands of jobs and probably tens of thousands of ongoing jobs.”
Property experts and commentators at the roundtable also discussed which capital city would be the strongest performer for investors in 2014.