19 September 2008

Strong immigration causing WA housing market to rise again

Property market analysts have predicted the Western Australian housing market will pick up again after a year’s slump, because of increased demand and lower interest rates.

As early as 2010, reports The West, Western Australian property prices will raise by 20 per cent as a result of strong rates of Australian immigration, a continually buoyant economy and a slowing down of housing construction.

The Urban Development Institute of Australia executive director Debra Goostrey said Australian immigration will be the driving force behind the rejuvenation of the state’s property market.

"We’ve got 800 people coming into WA every week, they need to be housed somewhere and there is a shortage of rental properties. There are a lot of people waiting to buy once this market starts to move again," she told the news provider.

Gavin Forster from the Master Builders Association said the rate of housing construction is not keeping up with the rate of immigration.  This year, around 19,000 houses will be built, which is 6,000 short of the yearly average.

In related news, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Senator Chris Evans recently told Western Australian companies they need to increase the amount of employees on a permanent migration visa.  Too many overseas workers on temporary 457 visas are being used to meet the needs of labour shortages, and Senator Evans is urging employers to take advantage of the permanent migration scheme, reports WA Today. 

Senator Evans is largely referring to the mining industry, in which its much-needed development is suffering from a massive labour shortage.  Hundreds of thousands of overseas workers who are trained in the mining profession are being recruited to Australia under the Australian skilled migration program so that the labour shortage can be eased.

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The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people apply for an Australia visa.

Article by Jessica Bird, Australian Visa Bureau.