Next two years a good time to be in property with “steady” house price growth expected: John Symond

John Symond has delivered a bullish speech on the outlook for the housing market over the next few years forecasting "steady" price gains as one of the keynote speakers at the Australian Real Estate Conference (AREC) on the Gold Coast today.

He also inspired delegates – many of whom tweeted from the conference – of how he had worked as a kid in a fruit shop and then overcome near bankruptcy to establish the Aussie Home Loans business.

Titled ‘It all starts with a big dream’ the Aussie Home Loans founder said the next 12 months to two years would be a good time to be in the property market.

He said house prices had bottomed out and the market would turn the corner after the federal election in September - when more certainty returned to politics - with house prices rising at a steady rate rather than leaping ahead.

"If you want to pick a time to get into housing, you can't get a much better time than now," Symond told a huge industry gathering.

Highlights of his speech were tweeted by those in attendance, including Property Observer blogger Leanne Pilkington, general manager at Laing & Simmons:

Sunshine Coast real estate agent Simon Thomas, was also inspired tweeting the following along with a photo of John Symond at the conference:

Quest Real Estate was also buoyed by the speech, tweeting Symond’s positive outlook and post-election expectations:

Symond told delegates interest rates were at their lowest on record, and could head even lower.

He said there was evidence that house prices were rising all across Australia.

He was particularly bullish about the outlook after the election.

"After the election, most Australians will feel they have a government that can make decisions in their own right and that will boost confidence,” said Symond, reported News Limited, co-sponsors of the conference.

"It is very difficult for any government to govern efficiently when they have to rely on splinter groups and a coalition of interests."

He encouraged first-home buyers to act on “market signals” and not to wait for further incentives from governments, highlighting that home loans were available at below 5%.

He said affordability was it its best in many years.

Symond quoted RP Data research showing the number of suburbs where it was more affordable to buy a home under $500,000 than rent had grown from 500 two years ago to 796.

But he highlighted that property was a long-term investment and not a “quick kill”.