Via MNI:

  • NAB’s Residential Property Index unchanged at +19 points in Q3
  • Queensland emerging as the strongest state, big gains in South Australia/NT, and sentiment weakest and still falling (at all-time low now) in Western Australia
  • The survey showed big pick-up in foreign buying in new property especially Victoria with foreign buyers accounting for one in six new properties nationally
  • First home buyers were less active and local investor activity was unchanged
  • NAB says it expects house price increases to be more modest than in recent times because of rising unemployment, sluggish household income growth, affordability issues and cost of living pressures

“Foreign buyers accounting for one in six new properties nationally” …

Excellent! if there are buyers about, now is a great time to build more. ‘Rebalance’ the economy and all that.

There is more detail on this from the Australian Financial Review (ungated):

Foreign property investors buy up big