I’ve Been To Cities

Posted by Daniel Joseph

I’ve been everywhere, man, I’ve been everywhere. Well, not quite, but I’m getting there! A few weeks back we started the first in a series of blog posts on capital city property markets. Unfortunately, we had to take a slight detour the past two weeks to address 1) negative gearing and 2) the predictions of an ‘economist’ on a top rating ‘news’ program (actually pains me to say both economist and news in this context). Regardless, this week we return to the series. I’ll hold for applause.

Who am I?

I was the first city to grant women voting rights
I’m home to a recent prime minister who assumed office in an act that’d make Brutus proud
I’m banking on an upcoming submarine manufacturing contract to stimulate my fledgling economy
I have the oldest population of any Australian city
I am the only city in Australia that was established as a colony of free settlers

Any ideas?

I’m Adelaide, of course!

The Adelaide property market has been somewhat stagnant over the past few years, largely a result of a poor jobs market. Here’s why Adelaide is likely to remain bogged in the correction phase of its cycle for the medium term:

South Australia lacks the strong industry drivers to generate employment growth, population growth and property growth
The unemployment rate is 30 per cent above the national figure – a fifteen year high in trend terms
Private capital expenditure (a proxy for business confidence) has been flat for the past decade
Between September 2010 and September 2015, the median price of dwelling in Adelaide increased 7 per cent – less than the rate of inflation
South Australia’s population growth rate is the third lowest of Australian states, increasing 0.75 per cent in the year to June 2015

The silver lining on the otherwise dark cloud?