Negative sentiment in Western Australia continues: ANZ/Property Council Survey
The ANZ/Property Council Survey index for Western Australia has seen a softening in property business sector confidence to 115 from 123 over the latest quarter.
Down 19 points over the last 12 months, it is in stark contrast to the increasingly positive sentiment nationally, up to 135 from 131 over the same period.
Property Council of Australia executive director Joe Lenzo said that the dip is in line with recent consumer surveys that have also seen declines.
“The Western Australian property sector is still adjusting after record high levels of business confidence within the last two years, when the resources sector was at peak performance along with population growth,” said Lenzo.
The outlook for retail and industrial property however, is steady.
“These results show that now is not the time for government to pull back on its infrastructure and budget commitments” said Lenzo.
A number of factors may be behind the softening sentiment.
These include:
- Increases in property taxes
- Uncertainty in the provisioning of vital infrastructure
- Lack of clear vision for continuing the growth of the state
However, positives may be coming in the shape of the sale of underutilised land assets and further planning reforms, he said.
“The worrying decline in business confidence in the property sector highlights the importance of fast tracking government land sales to enable the private sector to step in and grow the State through property investment and development," Lenzo claimed.