Brighter Buying

This guy says economists are wrong: values are rising not dropping

by Kate Watt, Marketing Manager 14 March 2019

Last week we reported a double-whammy interest rate cut forecast from Westpac economist Bill Evans

Well this week we’re telling you why he might be wrong.

Straight shooting Hotspotting founder Terry Ryder says talk of a declining property market, falling consumer spending and rate cuts unnecessarily “confounds consumers” and is simply not true.

“Some economists are concerned about the ‘wealth effect’ of falling property prices. They need not be concerned about that,” Ryder told Property Observer.

“What should concern them is their disturbing lack of knowledge about residential real estate markets. They have misunderstood what’s happening with prices in the many different markets around Australia.”

So how can clever economists like Bill Evans stuff it up so badly?

Firstly Ryder says they don’t spend all day, every day, analysing residential real estate markets versus broader economic trends.

Secondly, they make the rookie error of talking about a single Australian property market which simply doesn’t exist. Australia is made up of many different property markets, and the good news is:

“… locations where property prices have fallen a lot are in the minority. Most markets around the nation have prices that are rising or are holding firm,” says Ryder.

When you look at the data you can see stellar growth in places like Canberra and Hobart as well as major regional centres in Victoria and New South Wales.

Individual pockets of Brisbane are going gangbusters and while overall prices aren’t rising strongly, they’re certainly not falling.

So who’s crystal ball will win? Only time will tell, but we certainly see merit in getting to know what’s happening in your local market before you buy or sell.

Here’s what’s happening in our market: view our current listings for sale or check our listings for rent.