Perth, Brisbane seen as cities with best prospects

This result marked a significant spike in confidence from previous surveys, with only 53 per cent of respondents indicating positive sentiment towards their capital city market in 2019, and just 44 per cent in the year prior.

Confidence was highest in Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia, with Brisbane recording the largest home preference at 81 per cent.

Team leader of Momentum Wealth’s buyer’s agents Emma Everett said that the uplift in sentiment is likely due to a number of shifts in Australia’s different property cycles.

“All of the capital cities which recorded a home preference in this year’s survey were either in the growth phases of their property cycle, or entering recovery with growth anticipated in the short to medium term, which likely contributed to the positive outlook in these respective states,” she said.

While confidence rose most in Melbourne – up 7 per cent from last year’s survey – investor interest remained highest in Perth and Brisbane, with 37 per cent and 26 per cent of respondents respectively choosing the capital cities as the best locations to invest in the next 12 months.

Ms Everett said that the relative affordability and growth opportunities in both Brisbane and Perth are likely to be the primary drivers of continued interest in their property markets.

“While Brisbane’s property market has been recording steady growth for some time, continued improvements in rental conditions and a significant tightening of stock in Perth’s housing sector are now driving the consensus that the property market is moving into recovery phase, with savvy buyers realising the counter-cyclical opportunities at hand,” Ms Everett highlighted

“Investors are also recognising the value for money these markets offer, especially in comparison to places like Sydney where prices remain significantly overvalued and affordability constraints are pushing buyers out of the capital city market in favour of regional or state alternatives.”

Further, Brisbane emerged as the most popular market for investors actively seeking opportunities.

Meanwhile, Perth is considered as the capital city market with the best long-term prospects – 61 per cent of respondents ranked the Western Australia capital as the location with the highest three-year growth potential.

According to Ms Everett, a number of factors are contributing to a strong long-term outlook for Perth’s residential housing sector, including growth in population and the mining sector.

“While we’re already seeing early improvements across Perth’s rental and capital markets, rising activity in the mining sector, increased infrastructure spending and early signs of accelerated population growth are providing strong indicators for the market’s future performance,” she concluded.