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A majority of agents are optimistic that recently elected prime minister Tony Abbott will be positive for the housing market, according to a recent survey.
In a straw poll by Real Estate Business, 77 per cent out of 430 respondents said prime minister Tony Abbott would have a positive impact on the housing market.
Just over 12 per cent said Mr Abbott would have no impact, 5.8 per cent believed he would have a negative impact and the remaining 5.1 per cent were unsure.
President of the Real Estate Institute of NSW Christian Payne told Real Estate Business Tony Abbott would have a positive impact on the market.
“[He] brings business confidence and consumer confidence," he said. “If people are making money in business then the property sector will get a boost as a result of that with investments. And that’s not just residential; a lot of investors look at commercial and industrial property as well.”
Mr Payne said the flat property market that was evident prior to the announcement of the election revealed the low confidence consumers had in the previous government.
“The market changed as soon as Julia [Gillard] called the election and we saw buyers do things then. As we got six to eight weeks out from the election, everyone was quite certain that we would have a change in government - [they] felt better about that and people started to list their properties,” he said.
CEO of Richardson&Wrench Andrew Cocks said while there was certainly a positive impact post-election, any direct impact from the new government would not be significant.
“I think the biggest issue is certainty and consistency in the federal government policy settings, and I think to the extent that the federal election is over, there is some consistency and certainty that can come back to the marketplace," said Mr Cocks.
“In general, because of the [Liberal] policies being perceived as more pro-market and potentially benefitting the economic environment in which businesses operate, that will also generate some upside."
Mr Cocks added that Mr Abbott’s win also coincided with an upturn in the international marketplace.
“If you had a Labor government return, would there be any significance difference? Probably not, as long as there’s a level of certainty in which way the market could actually operate,” he said.
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