The Australian property market will experience long-term growth, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) has suggested.
Andrew Harvey, senior economist at the HIA, said that price growth is currently relatively "subdued" due to "tight monetary policy" and a few other factors.
He commented that house prices will be on a "relatively flat trajectory" this year, but said this of the future: "In the longer term Australia's housing market is underpinned by strong fundamentals, including healthy underlying demand."
His comments follow the publication of the Australian Bureau of Statistics' index of established house prices, which showed a small increase of 0.7 per cent for the final quarter of 2010.
The increase from the final quarter of 2009 to the last three months of 2010 was higher at 5.8 per cent.
Mr Harvey said that, to ensure that Australia's population is properly housed and that the market improves, the problem of under-building needs to be addressed.
Posted by Ravin Chatalni