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Staff Reporter
The GFC continues to sap the confidence of consumers in Victoria, a survey of Barry Plant real estate directors has found.
The directors, who are in charge of 80 Victorian-based real estate agencies, agreed that consumer confidence was still low because of the continuing effects of the GFC.
Mike McCarthy, CEO of Barry Plant Real Estate, said last year's downturn was a normal part of the real estate cycle and that it’s now time for the market to rise again.
"It's ludicrous to put too much faith in the forecasts of economists who say the Australian market will flatten out like it has in the U.S,” he said.
“All they are doing is scaring off buyers when the market is favouring buyers in a way that we have not seen for some years.”
"Experience and a range of other data suggest that it's not going to happen. The Australian economy is strong - employment is up - it's nothing like the U.S economy. This is just a normal part of the cycle, and it's on the way up again."
Mr McCarthy’s comments come not long after the release of statistics showing Melbourne’s vacancy rate has risen to 4.4 per cent, almost double that of any other Australian capital city.
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