From Eryk Bagshaw & Peter Martin at SMH:
Confidence in the housing market has collapsed, with the number of Australians describing property as the wisest place to put their savings falling to its lowest level in more than 40 years.
The Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research has been asking about the wisest place to store savings since it began its consumer confidence survey in 1974. Real estate has been one of the most popular answers, often eclipsing bank deposits and paying down debt as the wisest place for savings.
Westpac’s Bill Evans: “There is no doubt nervousness about the sustainability of prices.”
Lack of confidence is a vulnerability rather than sign of an imminent collapse. It may also reflect consumer nervousness about record low interest rates (lowest in more than 40 years) and the impact on affordability, and house prices, when rates eventually rise.
Source: Confidence in housing collapses to lowest level in 40 years: survey
This survey is for ‘number of Australians’. They have represented a significantly declining proportion of property buyers over the last decade.
This fact over-rides most of what may be said in support of potential conclusions that may be offered.
Agreement from some arrogant seems a real big problem – most times – as has been noticed by many. This is despite having got various markets and economic/financial considerations so embarrassingly, and publicly, repeatedly wrong, for so long.
How to win friends, and influence people 🙂
The Westpac chart shows the percentage of people who prefer property falling to a 40-year low. One would expect that the percentage of buyers is also falling.