Building approvals are buoyant and consumer confidence is up

Australian property investors and International-foreign investors of Australian property will be pleased to see building approvals are buoyant and consumer confidence is up with good interest recorded.  

CommSec’s latest release shows dwelling approvals rose 2.9 per cent in November after a 5.1 per cent decline in October and consumer confidence rose by 3.1 per cent to a 12-month high according to the Roy Stanley Consumer Confidence Rating.  

The results  show that positive activity is basically operating at normal levels and the data also suggests that interest rate settings are at about the right level.  The trend is clear for Australian consumers who are gradually becoming more confident with an emphasis on the word ‘gradual’, says the CommSec release. 

Provided negative economic forecasts subside we could expect consumers to become more confident and embrace a strong Australian dollar, low unemployment, better housing affordability and cheap finance rate, notes the release by CommSec.  

In terms of building approvals, the 2.9 per cent rise retraces some of the decline in October and sets the annual level as up 13.2 per cent and according to CommSec, the data suggests that interest rate settings are about right and the construction industry can look forward to a year of solid activity.  

There has also been very strong activity in the Australian house, unit and commercial real estate sectors from overseas-foreign investors who are taking advantage of the opportunities available in the Australian property industry.