On 9th September 2016, after a long and very controversial campaign, Donald Trump became president of the United States. The Real estate mogul and celebrity billionaire Donald Trump claimed the Presidency in a very surprising and historic result.
So what does this all have to do with the Australian property industry?
It’s not clear yet, how this will affect our property industry. We can only try and predict what will happen. If Clinton had won, it probably would have been mostly business as usual for the Australian property market, apart from a slight boost to commercial real estate. With Trump as president, there will be change and it might be beneficial as we could see an increase in foreign interest into Australian property safe havens. It can make investing in the Australian property market more attractive for large foreign developers and institutions and for high net worth private investors who are looking at buying residential properties.
It could also mean, that Chinese investment in Australia, that has recently stalled after tax increases imposed on foreign buyers, will see a boost. High sought after US locations like New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco might not be as beneficial to the Chinese investors anymore and will make Australian properties look less risky. On the other hand, the change in US political strategies will most likely cause an unstable economy (at least short-term) which could cause a declining dollar and rising inflation. As the US Dollar and Australian Dollar are linked, this could lead to higher interest rates. An increase in interest rates will affect mortgage holders, consumer spending, and investment.
However, these are all speculation and only time will tell what affect Trump will have on Australia’s Property Market.
If you are interested in reading more about this topic, please check out the following article: