CONFIDENCE IN VICTORIA REMAINS BEHIND THE REST OF AUSTRALIA
Property industry confidence in Victoria continues to lag behind the rest of Australia with concerns about the state’s economic growth as it prepares to emerge from lockdown.
The latest ANZ/Property Council of Australia industry confidence survey found confidence in Victoria is the lowest in Australia at 115 index points for the September 2021 quarter, below the national average of 130 index points. A score of 100 is considered neutral.
Key markers for Victoria mostly decreased over the last three months, with confidence in state economic growth and home capital growth expectations falling. Confidence in the Federal Government also declined while confidence in the Victorian Government was up.
On the positive side, Victorians reported high levels of confidence in the state’s medium-term outlook, with 62 per cent of respondents confident that COVID-19 impacts on their business will improve over the next three months.
Property Council’s Victorian Executive Director Danni Hunter said: “When it comes to lockdown, Victoria has done it tougher than any other state in Australia and Melbourne has done it tougher than any other city in the world.
“Despite the enormous burden it has had to carry over the past 18 months, the business sector has shown extraordinary resilience and there is optimism about the months ahead as we move into 2022.
“That Victoria is even in positive territory even after our largest outbreak and another lengthy lockdown is testament to the confidence the property sector has in the post lockdown world.
“With the vaccine rollout rapidly advancing over the last three months and a roadmap to get our communities and economy back on track, it is clear that there is an air of positivity for the future.
“But we can’t bank on confidence alone. The Victorian Government needs to ensure it holds to its plan for reopening and gets construction back to work as soon as sites can demonstrate vaccination status and COVID-19 safety compliance.
“We need every section of the economy firing for Victoria to succeed, and this means reopening the construction and property sectors as quickly as possible and getting the 320,000 Victorians in these critical sectors back to work.”
The survey also found housing supply and affordability had remained the primary concern across Australia for both federal (24 per cent) and state government (27 per cent) levels. Federally, other pressing issues included energy, environment and emissions (18 per cent), and economic management and cities and infrastructure delivery (both 17 per cent). At a state level, respondents also identified property taxes and planning reform (both 21 per cent) as critical issues.
The ANZ/Property Council industry survey for the September quarter was conducted between 30 August and 15 September and included 804 respondents.
Index |
Quarterly Result |
Quarterly Change |
Ranking (1 to 6) |
Confidence Index |
DOWN |
122 to 115 |
6th |
State Economic Growth |
DOWN |
5.8 to -0.4 |
6th |
State Govt Performance |
UP |
-23.3 to -11.3 |
5th |
Debt Finance Availability |
DOWN |
5.1 to 1.9 |
3rd |
House Capital Growth |
DOWN |
47.5 to 34 |
6th |
Office Capital Growth |
DOWN |
-26.1 to -38.8 |
6th |
Forward Work Schedules |
DOWN |
31.9 to 25.6 |
6th |
Staffing Levels |
DOWN |
19.8 to 18.7 |
6th |
To view select ANZ/Property Council Survey historical data series, visit the Property Council’s Data Room
To find out more about the ANZ/Property Council Survey and our Support Sponsor RCP, visit
www.propertycouncil.com.au/confidence
Media contacts: Eric Allilomou M: 0448 291 236 E: [email protected]