According to a survey of Property Council members, Australia’s property industry has less confidence because of the current state of the economy. The survey found that the overall Confidence Index fell 19 points in the June quarter.

Ken Morrison, the CEO of the Property Council of Australia, said confidence was down because of things like inflation, a lack of skilled workers, and broken supply chains.

“There is no doubt that the lingering effects of COVID, inflationary pressures and interest rate implications, energy and staffing shortages as well as global geopolitical issues, have left a dent in confidence, and that comes as little surprise.” (source: Property Council Media Release)

Though the survey showed a sharp drop in confidence about the future, some businesses are still optimistic about their own business conditions – and it remains positive in general at 118 index points.

Mr Morrison said when asked about their own business plans, respondents felt they were well-prepared to handle these headwinds. This, along with the historically low unemployment rate, is why confidence was still high.

One surprising find in the survey was that people believed moving forward, COVID was most likely to impact the commercial property sector. Prior to this, it was always said tourism and hotels would be impacted the most by the virus.