Investing in property Down Under

THERE has never been a better time to invest in bricks and mortar in certain parts of Australia. That is according to IP Global, the property investment business.

Here, cashy speaks to Rob Pearce, IP Global’s Middle Eastern director and a member of team cashy, and Tim Murphy, its founder and chief executive to get the low-down on the property market Down Under...

Mining prosperity

Despite a general picture of low consumer confidence, the prosperity and economic activity of the Australian mining sector is creating a two-tiered economy.

IP Global has identified key mining towns that have witnessed average economic growth of 22% per annum over the last ten years as a result of demand from the resource sector – giving rise to strong property investment opportunities.

Pearce points to figures that show that Australian mining sector today represents 19% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), at around $314 billion – just $46bn less than the UAE’s total GDP for 2011.

Commodity boom

The urbanisation and industrialisation of China, India and other developing Asian economies are driving the world’s largest commodities boom in history. The total value of Australian commodity exports is expected to more than double over the next 20 years to $480bn.

Murphy says: “There are significant investment opportunities in Australia at the moment. China alone intends to build 37 cities over the next ten years, each at least the size of Perth and three larger than Sydney.

“This will all require Australian iron ore (for steel) LNG (for electricity) and other commodities. China’s continued growth, backed by their large US dollar foreign exchange reserve, will further influence the high demand, low supply real estate ratio that Australia’s mining towns are experiencing.”

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