When a tech bubble bursts it’s worth buying in, says James Murdoch
James Murdoch is a legend of Australia’s tech sector, one of the richest men in the world and an investor in companies like Netflix, Instagram and Snapchat.
But Mr Murdoch’s past has also been a problem for Australia’s housing market, which has had a hard time keeping up with rising house prices.
So in a bid to get the Australian property market back on track, Mr Murdoch decided to put his money where his mouth is.
On Thursday, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) will release its latest data on the average price of Australian homes.
The median price of homes in the ACT, WA and the Northern Territory has all increased since last year.
The median price in Victoria, however, is now about $3,000 higher.
For a time this was good news for the industry.
But it is now the case that the median price is likely to fall again in coming years.
Mr Murdoch, who is worth an estimated $6 billion, is one of Australias most successful investors, having bought shares in Facebook and LinkedIn and amassed a net worth of $3.2 billion.
“The Australian housing market has done well over the past year, particularly in terms of affordability,” Mr Murdoch said.
“I’m pleased that we’re seeing the trend change, but that is a trend which will be very difficult to maintain over the longer term.”
What’s driving this price increase?
The median house price in the Northern Territories is now $2,300 more than last year, while in WA it is $1,800 higher.
The increase in house prices has been driven by rising house values in Western Australia, Victoria and the ACT.
Mr Mancunian, who has been in the tech sector for the past 35 years, believes the housing boom has been a bubble, and that the underlying trend is that home prices are being driven by speculation and demand.
“What we’ve seen in recent years is people buying property and they’re not necessarily looking for a particular house, they’re just looking for an area to live,” Mr Mancune said.
For example, a recent report by the Institute of Public Affairs found that in Western Australian, house prices rose by 12 per cent in the first three months of 2017.
The average price in WA has risen by nearly $400 over the last year with the median house prices rising by more than $800 over the same period.
The price increase in Western Victoria is also well above the national average.
In the ACT average price is about $1.7 million higher than last years median house.
In Western Australia the average is $2.2 million higher, while the median is $800 higher than the national figure.
The rising prices in WA and Victoria mean that a home in these states will likely cost more than the median home in the rest of Australia.
While the price increase is a problem in many states, it is particularly severe in Western WA.
“In Western WA, we’ve had house prices going up by about 50 per cent over the period we’ve been here,” Mr Mangum said.
Mr Mangum says the real estate market in WA is still “at a very early stage”.
“I think we are seeing a lot of growth but it is still very early,” he said.
However, Mr Mangums optimism has been tempered by the recent news that Mr Murdoch is leaving the Australian government.
“There are a lot people who have made their money in the Australian tech sector,” Mr Manthey said.
He said there was also a “big shift” from investment and real estate into property and mining.
“You see some of the companies in the mining sector in Western and Northern Australia, that are going to be very big and very well run,” Mr Mandholts said.
Topics:housing-industry,business-economics-and-finance,business,government-and/or-politics,housing,industry-and_entertainment,economics,australiaFirst posted June 19, 2018 12:46:56Contact Luke Hirsch