John Symonds says property to rise
The property market will recover after the September federal election, Aussie Home Loans entrepreneur John Symond has predicted at a national real estate conference. Mr Symond said the combination of bottomed out property prices and historically low interest rates had created the perfect environment for a recovery - the only missing ingredient was confidence. "If you want to pick a time to get into housing, you can't get a much better time than now," Mr Symond told more than 3000 agents at the Australian Real Estate Conference on the Gold Coast. "We have the lowest interest rates on record, which may even go a little lower, and we have seen the housing market bottom, while there is evidence right around Australia that prices are increasing." Mr Symond said the market would gradually improve until the federal election in September, at which time it could be expected to move more quickly. "Confidence will come back after the federal election," he said. "After the election, most Australians will feel they have a government that can make decisions in their own right and that will boost confidence. "It is very difficult for any government to govern efficiently when they have to rely on splinter groups and a coalition of interests." Mr Symond said first home buyers should not wait for additional government incentives to encourage them to act, but recognise the market signals. "First-home buyers are now able to borrow money at 5 per cent, that's a better incentive than any grant," Mr Symond said. "Pricing today is very attractive when you compare it to the last 10 years and affordability is the best its been for many, many years - and that's the best time to get into housing." Mr Symond said changes in housing affordability could be seen in research from RP Data showed there were currently 796 suburbs around the country where it was more affordable to buy a home under $500,000 than rent. Two years ago, there was only around 500 suburbs where this was the case. Prices were likely to continue to grow steadily, rather than leap ahead he said. "But that's a good thing. You don't want them to gallop ahead stupidly because we know where that leads," he said. "Property isn't for a quick kill where you buy something today and sell in 12 months, it's about holding long term, a solid investment and a safe investment. |