Is the tide changing in the property world?

Recent weeks in the property world have seen speculation regarding the direction of property investing and where is the best location to focus your energies.

Consumer sentiment reports seem to indicate increasing confidence in the larger markets of Victoria and New South Wales, with a decline in optimism towards the resource economies of Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Last weekend’s (October 27-28) auction figures posted for Victoria and New South Wales support this notion.

The Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) reported a record number of auctions for the year, with a clearance rate of 66 per cent.

Collecting a volume of $272.43 million, the results are in line with forecasts for an active spring season heading into summer.

The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) also reported healthy figures over the weekend, with 608 properties to go under the hammer at a clearance rate of 62 per cent.

REINSW chief executive officer Tim McKibbin was pleased with results and hopeful for the months to come.

“This weekend in the property world was expected to be one of the biggest, in terms of the volume of properties scheduled to go to auction,” he said.

“We have seen the market continue to gain momentum and strengthen so far this spring and continued positive results are bringing about confidence amongst home buyers.”

Meanwhile, results from the latest Property Council of Australia-ANZ Property Industry Confidence Survey indicate falling sentiment towards the regional mining areas of Queensland.

Mackay and Townsville report lower confidence in the market, largely stemming from rumblings of a waning mining boom.

“This is unfamiliar territory for the industry in Queensland as confidence shifts into negative territory and below the national average for the first time in over 12 months,” said Queensland executive director of the Property Council of Australia, Kathy MacDermott.

By Steve McKnight

Steve McKnight, the founder of PropertyInvesting.com, is a respected property investing authority as well as Australia's #1 best-selling business author.