Is the property glass half-full or half-empty?
Opinions vary so much that SmartCompany has had to talk to a comprehensive range of experts to get some answers. Australia’s property market is balanced on a knife edge. Some economists believe the debt-fuelled bubble is about to burst, sending house prices plunging by up to 50%. Others believe the undersupply of housing means the market will hold up well, even if Australia enters a recession. What happens to the property sector is of vital importance to entrepreneurs. According to accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoppers, 65% of private businesses use their family homes as security to obtain business finance. If property prices plunge, the capacity of businesses owners to take on further debt to grow or even save their business will be severely limited. Predicting where house prices will go in the next two years is difficult given the extraordinarily volatile economic conditions. Besides, opinions (even here in the SmartCompany office) are so varied that to favour one point of view woul
