Confidence is back in Australia
23 Jun 09
Confidence is back in Australia
The mood is up and the sales activity is too.
The latest news is pointing towards an economic recovery for Australia which is good news for the housing market.
A continued stretch of gloomy news has seemingly ended, at least for now. We've just heard that we've missed a recession (so far), unemployment has remained under 6%, the Aussie dollar is stronger than a few months ago, and interest rates remain at very attractive low levels for borrowers.
The latest good news has been the Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer confidence, which rose by a near-record 12.7% in June to 100.1 points. With 100 points as a middle ground, the latest figure means that there are ever so slightly more optimists than pessimists for the first time since last year, when the global credit crisis began to pull down on Australia's economy and confidence.
There are also signs the property market has stabilised, as investors and owner occupiers have begun creeping back into the market.
The number of new housing loans are at a 14-month high, lifting by 0.9% in April, and loans for new construction rose by 1.3% to reach a seven year high, according to Commonwealth Securities (CommSec).
Even with tighter lending criteria, loan sizes are increasing. The average loan stood at $264,700, up 11.9% on a year ago, said CommSec in its June report.