Queensland has the strongest economic performance of all states in Australia, a new report has found.
For the first time in the 13-year history of CBA’s CommSec State of the States report, Queensland’s economic activity has enjoyed the benefits of strong population growth, a solid job market and buoyant overseas demand for energy resources such as coal and natural gas.
The report uses the latest available information to provide an economic snapshot of each region, comparing annual growth rates for key indicators including economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work, population growth, housing finance and dwelling commencements.
According to the data, the sunshine state is now ahead of Tasmania, which drops from first place to second South Australia has lifted from fifth place to third. NSW is now in joint fourth spot with Victoria and ahead of the ACT, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
In its latest index, CBA revealed NSW ranked third on equipment investment and relative unemployment, Victoria ranked first on retail spending and Queensland ranked first on relative population growth and relative unemployment.
South Australia ranked first on construction work and dwelling starts, WA ranked first on relative economic growth, Tasmania ranked first on equipment investment, the ACT ranked first on housing finance and the NT ranked third on relative economic growth.
CommSec chief economist Craig James (pictured above) said the diversification of Queensland’s economy had traditionally prevented the state from taking top spot in the economic rankings.
“Strength in some sections of the economy had been offset by weaknesses in others, but Queensland is currently supported by solid mining, energy and tourism sectors as well as solid internal migration,” James said.
“Queensland has a strong report card ranking first on relative population growth and relative unemployment and is second ranked on three of the other eight economic indicators.”
James said when looking at annual growth rates to get a guide on economic momentum, Queensland had annual rates that exceeded the national average on five of the eight indicators.
“In terms of future economic performance for all state and territory economies, much will depend on the performance of housing and job markets at a time of higher interest rates,” he said.
Annual growth rates
James said annual changes in economic indicators were useful for measuring economic momentum.
“Of the eight indicators assessed, the ACT, Northern Territory and Queensland led on two of the eight economic indicators and Tasmania and NSW each led on one,” he said.
James said when looking across annual growth rates, NSW, the ACT and Queensland had annual growth rates that exceeded the national average on five of the eight indicators.
Next best was the NT exceeding the national annual growth rate on four of the eight indicators and Tasmania and SA led the national average on three indicators. WA exceeded the national average growth rate on two indicators followed by Victoria on one.
Queensland property shines bright
A Brisbane property adviser recently identified Brisbane’s best and worst suburbs to invest in and why he believed buyers should act now to secure an asset.
PK Gupta of Consulting by PK said there were some excellent investment opportunities in Brisbane, however, being strategic about the asset and suburb selection was vital.
“Brisbane definitely has more upside than either Sydney or Melbourne when it comes to investment opportunity,” Gupta said. “At the beginning of 2021, you could throw a dart at a map of Brisbane while blindfolded and you would have hit a growth location. But things have changed and now it’s not should I buy in Brisbane, but where and what should I buy.”
A December report found Gold Coast apartment sales continue tracking higher than pre-pandemic levels, despite building constraints keeping supply levels below historic averages.
The latest Urbis Apartment Essentials report revealed 336 new apartment sales were recorded on the Gold Coast in the third quarter of 2022, significantly below the 690 sales in the corresponding period in 2021 and a record-breaking 742 during Q1 of 2021.
Urbis senior consultant Lynda Campbell said despite the fact 11 new projects were launched during the quarter, the market remained broadly undersupplied amid rising caution despite growing demand from developers and buyers.
“It’s a tug of war at the moment between what we see as strong underlying fundamentals and the risk aversion being demonstrated by both buyers and developers,” Campbell said.
“Rising construction costs have led many developers to put their projects on the sidelines, while buyers are being swayed against purchases by rising interest rates and cost-of-living pressures. However, in talking to our clients, astute and reputable developers still see plenty of opportunity in the local market, so it’s just a matter of timing.”
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