Australians optimistic about the economy

Despite the turmoil of global markets, Australians are optimistic about the Australian property market and the state of the economy as a whole, according to the latest report from CUA.

The 'Borrowing and Investments Intentions Survey', conducted by Auspoll, was undertaken 18-21 October. Of the 1507 Australians surveyed, 58 per cent felt confident that the economy will remain strong and stable over the coming year, with 61 per cent believing Australia will cope better with the current financial instability than Europe or the US.

In relation to the Australian property market, 58 per cent of respondents were optimistic about it improving over the next five years. Of the 33 per cent who intend to take out a loan, more than half (52 per cent) intend to purchase either an investment or residential property.

CUA's group general manager, strategy and marketing Andrew Hadley said that the Reserve Bank of Australia's recent interest rate cuts would help to further drive this positive outlook for the Australian economy.

"As a nation we have been shoring up our savings and been cautious about making any major purchases and this has been particularly noticeable in the property market," Hadley said.

According to a September report from Datamonitor (based on a survey of 2000 Australian aged 18 or above), the proportion of consumers who have bought or are intending to buy an investment property grew from 5 per cent in 2009 to 9 per cent in 2011.