Reform will deliver confidence 

The peak body for Australia’s largest industry has revealed that confidence levels in South Australia’s property sector are treading water.

The ANZ/Property Council Survey – the leading business sentiment index – for the March 2016 quarter shows a positive one point quarterly shift complemented by a positive five point 12 month shift in sentiment.

SA Executive Director of the Property Council Daniel Gannon said South Australia’s future confidence levels remain dependent on sustained industry reform.

“Future job creation and economic development remains dependent on game-changing industry reforms to areas like tax, planning and local government,” he said.

“South Australia’s headline confidence rating hopped by one point quarter-on-quarter to 119 and has increased by five points over a 12-month period.

“In fact, South Australia is only one of four states to record a positive shift in sentiment over the past 12 months.

“Despite our state’s confidence rating continuing to trail the national figure by 12 points, there is much to be confident about.

“While beneath the national figure, forward work schedule expectations, retail capital growth expectations and hotel capital growth expectations remain positive.

“Retirement living capital growth expectations have dipped quarter-on-quarter, but still sit ahead of the national average.

“The bad news in this data sits across state economic growth expectations and the State Government’s performance in planning and managing growth.

“State economic growth expectations haven’t been in positive territory since March 2014, which means the last eight consecutive quarters have returned negative expectations.

“As for State Government performance, this indicator sits at -27.7, meaning that the last 16 quarters have returned a negative perception of the Government’s ability to plan and manage growth.

“Whilst a challenging indicator for the State Government, it also presents a green light for further reforms to convince the state’s largest private sector industry that it means business.

“At a time when our state’s jobless rate is at 7.3 per cent, we need to get serious about driving jobs growth through the property sector – a sector that employs more than 168,000 people.”

Media contact: Daniel Gannon | E [email protected]