Investment appetite falls
Despite a sharp increase in consumer confidence last month, new data has found appetite for investing in real estate is abating.
According to the Melbourne Institute, the latest Household Financial Conditions Index rose 23.3 per cent in September to 31.1.
Despite the increase, the index is still down 1.3 per cent compared to a year ago.
“The drivers of the rise in the index in September were a decline in the number households drawing on savings and a rise in the number of households saving a little and saving a lot. Offsetting these improvements was an increase in the share of households running into debt, to 6.6 per cent of all respondents. This is the highest share since September 2007,” the Institute’s Dr Edda Claus said.
“There are signs that Australians’ appetite for investing in real estate may be abating. This is in line with findings here. The percentage of households nominating ‘buying investment property’ declined to 10.1 per cent in September, the second lowest rate on record.”
These latest findings are in contrast to the Melbourne Institute’s data on consumer confidence, which recorded a massive jump just last month.