South Australia's property market recorded a second consecutive quarter of improvement in confidence, hitting a level above the national average, according to the latest ANZ/Property Council Survey.
The state's industry confidence for the December quarter this year locked in at 98 points, higher than the national level of 82 points.
According to the survey, South Australians are the most optimistic when it comes to the future impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, with more than half of respondents expecting things to improve in the next quarter.
"It’s going to take some time to return to pre-COVID confidence levels, but the current trajectory gives reason for cautious optimism," said Daniel Gannon, executive director for South Australia at the Property Council.
Gannon said the state government must do its part to ensure that the property market and business owners continue to thrive despite the impacts of the outbreak.
"Over the past quarter, we’ve learned a lot about business innovation and organisational nimbleness. Here in South Australia we are comparatively safe, healthy and resilient, we’re getting back to business and reopening our economy as confidence continues north," he said.
Overall, confidence across Australia's property market is growing, driven by the range of stimulus measures across state and territory governments.
Ken Morrison, chief executive of the Property Council, said the HomeBuilder scheme, in particular, is providing the much-needed boost for the property industry at such a "critical time."
"HomeBuilder is the pop star of government stimulus measures released so far – highly effective, immediate, and good value for money. The challenge will be maintaining this momentum beyond December when the current scheme expires and we are looking at a huge drop in population growth due to closed borders," he said.
