Confidence across South Australia’s property sector continues to gain momentum with industry confidence heading up for the second consecutive quarter and well above the national average.
According to the latest ANZ/Property Council Survey, industry confidence in South Australia sits at 98 points for the December 2020 quarter, lifting 12 points since last quarter. The survey includes responses from property industry professionals from South Australia and across the country.
The national average is currently 82 points and has increased by six points since last quarter. Importantly, South Australia’s confidence levels have increased by 38 points (or 62%) since the June quarter when COVID-19 brought the Australian economy to a standstill.
South Australians are also the most optimistic in the nation when it comes to the future impacts of COVID-19, with 56% of respondents expecting things to improve over the next three months, in comparison to 51% nationally.
“It’s going to take some time to return to pre-COVID confidence levels, but the current trajectory gives reason for cautious optimism,” said Property Council SA Executive Director Daniel Gannon.
“However, government decision-makers must continue to work with the sector to ensure that property and business owners survive 2020.
“Over the past quarter, we’ve learned a lot about business innovation and organisational nimbleness. Here in South Australia we are comparatively safe, healthy and resilient, we’re getting back to business and reopening our economy as confidence continues north.
“This dataset also reveals that South Australians have great confidence in the State Government managing and planning growth during a global crisis, and it’s significantly stronger than the national trend.
“For these reasons, if Cricket Australia is planning a back-up location for this year’s Boxing Day Test Match, look no further than the Adelaide Oval.
“Adelaide is home to a world-class iconic stadium with a stand named after Don Bradman, we have seen very low cases of community transmission since May, and we’ve opened our borders to all jurisdictions except Victoria. Hosting this ‘calendar event’ just makes sense.”
The survey also revealed the following:
- National economic growth expectations lifted from -66.9 to -52.4
- State forward work expectations have entered positive territory for the first time since the March quarter, along with staffing level expectations
- Respondents expect COVID-19 to have the most significant impact on the hotels, tourism and leisure sector
- State residential capital growth expectations have returned to positive territory for the first time since the March quarter
- The State Government performance index remains positive (at 28.3), and significantly stronger than the national average of 4.2
ANZ/Property Council Survey
December 2020
