Action needed to boost confidence in 2017
Queensland’s property industry has growing optimism about the year ahead, but the confidence of the state’s largest industry still lags behind the other major states according to the latest quarterly ANZ/Property Council industry sentiment survey.
Property Council Queensland Executive Director, Chris Mountford, said the results reflect the industry’s warm reception to recent policy announcements but has called on the State Government to deliver further positive news in 2017.
“The property industry is one of the few areas of the Queensland economy that is currently creating jobs,” Mr Mountford said.
“As the Government heads into a likely election year, there is a clear need for further Government action to increase Queensland’s competitiveness as an investment destination.”
Property industry confidence in Queensland rose three index points over the last quarter, yet remains well behind all Australian states apart from Western Australia. Queensland now has a confidence index score of 123, while Victoria remained steady at 139 and NSW has extended its national lead – jumping to 149 index points.
The Property Council says the boost in local confidence can be attributed to the release of the Queensland Government’s Advancing our Cities and Regions Strategy, which aims to put surplus government-owned land to work for the state’s economy.
“The new strategy demonstrated that the Government is ready to transform their land holdings into exciting new development projects, which will not only create jobs and boost economic activity, but also generate exciting new urban spaces for local communities,” Mr Mountford said.
“The property industry sees this initiative as a good catalyst for future investment and has clearly had a positive impact on confidence.
“While overall confidence in Queensland has increased, staffing level expectations continue to decline.
“This should send a clear message to the Government that they need to sharpen their focus on further initiatives to support job creation opportunities.
“The release of the final South East Queensland Regional Plan, early next year, will provide the next opportunity for the Government to close the gap on the high-confidence states.
“South East Queensland needs a regional land-use plan that not only caters for the area’s future growth in a theoretical sense, but is coupled with initiatives to ensure it is implemented by local governments on the ground.
“By setting the framework for the plan to be made a reality, the State Government will significantly boost the confidence of the local property industry.
“It is imperative that 2017 is a year of action from the State Government to attract investment in job-creating Queensland projects.”
Media contact: Chris Mountford| M 0408 469 734 | E [email protected]
To find out more about the ANZ/Property Council Survey and our Supporting Sponsor RCP, visit www.propertycouncil.com.au/confidence