Ozzie Bears: Returnees from Oz compare the property market in Oz with Ireland?

S

StoppedClock

Guest
From some of the other threads I have noticed a number of people spent time in Oz before returning here. Would these people like to share where they were, what their opionion of the local property market was then and what they make of it now.

I for one was in Melbourne for 4 years and felt the prices rises over that period were unsustainable but even with their 6% base rate they have done little more than stall for a while and look like they may start climbing again.
 
Re: Ozzie Bears

I lived in Perth for 5 years, property prices were quite reasonable at the time (this was upto 2003) - but I believe that prices have followed the east coast recently and have gone through the roof. This is, I imagine, to do with a) the resource boom and 2) investors/speculators looking for better value than what is available in melbourne and sydney - similar to the Irish and english buying properties in eastern europe i'd imagine.
the recent rise in interest rates was apparently to help deflate this west coast (and south east qld) property bubble - which doesn't help the folks on the east coast who've seen price decreases since 2004.
The aussies will probably go through a bit of property down-cycle, but they're in a decent position to ride it out ie they're not reliant solely on property and multinationals as we are here and have their own reserve bank to make interest rate decisions.
 
Re: Ozzie Bears

Hi ,
I can give an "Irishman in Oz ( east coast ) perspective".
I have been here for many years and bought a 2 bed apt at a Sydney beach one year before the property peak of 2004 .
In the last few years of "crash" / "soft landing" it has probably gone up in value by 3% a year.
I wouldn’t call this easy money, nor would I call it devastating!
The worst cases reported are houses decreased by 10% in value since the peak.
There are no signs of recovery and in fact there are signs of further interest rate rises ahead but I am not worried as much as I would be if I was in a similar situation in Ireland.

The differences between Ireland and Oz I see are :
Affordability , value , infrastructure and facilities : I paid approx EUR220K for a standard 2 bed apt , 5 minutes walk from a beautiful beach , 1 minute from reliable transport to city 5 Km away and two minutes walk from top restaurants and cafes , cinemas , bars and shopping .
There are private and public schools to choose from.
I don’t want to mention the council 50m swimming pools and tennis courts that cost buttons to use and that there are many to choose from within a walkable radius!
Even at the peak there were apts in this price range at Sydney's nicest beaches and suburbs.
Houses were unaffordable in these suburbs but then again you don’t buy many cheap houses in Dalkey either.
Sydney does have its share of dodgy suburbs in the middle of nowhere , but these prices never went past approx EUR200K for an average 3 bed standalone house.

Other differences are :
Oz sets its own interest rates , has it own resources and some manufacturing industry and is not as reliant on foreign investment as Ireland and as a result can weather a storm in a better fashion.
Hope I don’t depress too many people, lookup the embassy in the phone book!
 
Doesn't australia not have a big problem with water which seems to be getting worse every year. The droughts affecting agriculture in australia seem to be worsening every year. Im not putting australia down but it also has problems on the horizon. Australia is also very dependant on the United States for its defence.
 
Hi SC,

Since this thread is essentially comparing an overseas property market to the Irish property market it is not really appropriate in the Great Debates section. Im moving it to the overseas property section.

aj
 
Australia has great natural resources and is benefiting from the global commidities boom.Its' also strategically placed for the growth stories in China/India
WA and Queensland are flying at the moment and theres' full employment in all states.Government has no debt and last 3 years have seen substanial tax cuts

Only negatives are housing crash in sydney,rising interest rates over the last year and skill shortages in certain professions.

The 'water' situation is only a problem if u have a garden/pool and there are plans for desalination etc
 
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