The recent recovery of the housing market has helped to lift industry confidence in the NSW property market, according to the latest ANZ/Property Council Survey which measures expectations about property industry conditions over the next twelve months.
The Property Industry Confidence Index lifted five points from 118 in the December 2019 quarter to 123 in the March 2020 quarter. A 4.4 per cent increase in home prices in the December quarter has been one of the main drivers of the renewed confidence along with the major investment in large infrastructure projects across NSW.
“The growth of some confidence in the residential market is a positive sign for the state economy, and with better growth expectations across this sector and better availability of finance for housing, we hope to see continued growth in confidence,” said Property Council NSW Executive Director Jane Fitzgerald at the release of the report.
The survey also identified the highest expectations in House Capital Growth in NSW in over four years, driven in part by overall housing approvals and construction forecasts remaining slow across NSW, which will have an impact on housing supply and affordability.
As you can see below, all of the confidence indicators were up except for the State Government performance which was neutral.
| Index | Overall Context | Quarterly Result | Quarterly Change | Comment |
| Confidence Index | Positive | Up | 116 to 124 | An increase of eight index points |
| State Economic Growth | Positive | Up | -6.5 to 1.6 | Moved from negative to positive |
| State Govt Performance | Neutral | Down | 2.4 to 0.2 | Overall neutral performance, albeit slightly positive |
| Debt Finance Availability | Positive | Up | 6.4 to 8.5 | Third consecutive quarter of expected credit availability |
| House Capital Growth | Positive | Up | 21.2 to 38.3 | Highest expectations in NSW in over four years |
| Forward Work Schedules | Positive | Up | 35.5 to 39.6 | Strong positive expectations |
| Staffing Levels | Positive | Up | 13.3 to 19.2 | An increase of six index points
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Source Property Council of Australia/ANZ Property Industry Confidence Survey
