Doom and gloom or on the cusp of a boom? Our clients react to the state of the market
With many of our clients operating in the property space, it’s not surprising that there’s been some strong commentary over the last 18 months as construction costs, interest rates and a cost-of-living crisis fuel immense pressure on the market.
Nothing makes a headline like a bit of controversy, so when there’s strong opinions to be had the first questions we usually ask are “what do you think?” and “would you be happy saying that to media?” We can then leverage expertise, opinions and commentary, positioning the speaker as a thought leader for journalists to quote.
So, when the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently released its data for Building Activity, Australia to the June 2024 quarter, we reached out to clients and got some expert opinions to send to media:
Ivy Chen, Sales and Marketing Director at OSK Property:
“Construction costs remain one of the biggest challenges our industry is facing, so we’re not surprised to see a drop-off in other residential commencements in the June quarter – we do expect this to pick up in the new year as buyer confidence returns to the market and underpins new works across the industry.”
“The demand for inner-city apartments like BLVD at Melbourne Square, which is currently under construction and over 70 percent sold, is currently underpinned by the quality of the offering – residential amenities like wellness inclusions, rooftop areas, communal spaces, dining rooms and entertainment areas are a non-negotiable now, and we’re consistently seeing this as a strong driver of demand.”
Geoff County, SHAPE Homes General Manager:
“We’re pleased to see an increase in commencements across private sector houses nationally, highlighting the fact that there are still motivated buyers out there who are willing to commence works across new builds. Across the SHAPE Homes portfolio, whilst sales activity has been slow recently in Victoria where we operate, we’re looking forward to seeing activity ramp up as more new home builds commence and confidence returns to the market with sales.”
“While it’s a good sign that there’s been an increase in private sector houses being started, there’s still a long way to go in terms of recovery, confidence, and activity across the industry. People are always going to need places to live, and we look forward to entering the new year with more optimism, ready to rebound after a challenging 18 months.”
Tim Lowe, Founder and Co-Managing Director of Lowe Living and Lowe Capital:
“Supply constraints continue to be a significant issue, particularly concerning Off-The-Plan (OTP) sales. The overall market sentiment and confidence in securing these sales are low, further exacerbated by a lack of government incentives, such as stamp duty concessions, which pose a barrier to potential buyers.”
“We’re still facing a substantial planning backlog, and the average time to deliver projects from acquisition to settlement has increased by 25 percent. What used to take around 3.5 years is now extending to 4.5 years due to a multitude of challenges across the entire development lifecycle—from securing finance to rising build costs and sluggish sales.”
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