Homeowners and buyers Australia-wide are confident that 2007 will be a very good year, according to the annual consumer sentiment survey conducted by Mortgage Choice.
In the independent online survey conducted in November with 1,021 Australians, many of which were property owners, 68.8 per cent of respondents believed the Australian economy will be strong in 2007. This was only slightly down on the 70.8 per cent from last year's survey and the 81.5 per cent response from 2004.
The most confident state was Queensland, at 76.6 per cent, while the least confident was New South Wales at 61.9 per cent.
Mortgage Choice National Corporate Affairs Manager, Warren O'Rourke said the outcomes of the nationwide survey provide an interesting insight into the general public's expectations of and plans for the future, especially in terms of property investment.
"Overall, there has been no significant swing in Australians' perception of their financial future. Sentiment dropped only slightly and interest rates and petrol prices remain the top two concerns. Consumers continue to have a positive outlook on property and their finances," Mr O'Rourke said.
"With housing loan approvals still very healthy, though at a more reasonable pace, the results indicate this trend should continue with over one third of respondents - 35.1 per cent - planning to invest in property in the next 12 months".
Concern over the stability of interest rates and petrol prices remain at the forefront of consumers' minds, with 47.4 per cent citing rate increases and 17.2 per cent citing petrol prices as the biggest concerns for their financial future.
Job security came in third and a fall in housing prices garnered the least amount of concern. The state most concerned with rate increases was South Australia, at 55.8 per cent while the least concerned was Western Australia, at 43.6 per cent.
While most respondents (86.3 per cent) expect another increase in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) early in 2007, there is less concern (16.5 per cent) about whether they can afford it.
"Last year's survey, obviously completed before the 2006 rises, saw 19.3 per cent saying they could not afford any increase", Mr O'Rourke said.
"So, however impossible they thought it might be, Australians have managed to find more in their mortgage budget for interest rate rises".
The majority of respondents believe housing prices will remain stable (34 per cent, down from 41.8 per cent last year), 33.5 per cent thought they would increase in value (only 17.8 per cent last year) and 23.1 per cent predicted a decrease (32.8 per cent last year). 9.3 per cent were unsure.
It is not surprising that WA had the most respondents say housing prices would increase (44.5 per cent) while NSW had the fewest optimistic (22.9 per cent).
