Despite warnings from various experts, Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has denied a housing bubble is developing in Australia, describing the analysis as “lazy”.
Mr Hockey said rising house prices were due to a lack of supply in the housing market.
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“Australia fundamentally doesn’t produce enough dwellings to meet demand,” Mr Hockey said yesterday at a forum in Sydney.
“That doesn’t mean there’s a bubble,” he said.
The comments come two days after the Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements released a report showing Australian housing to be overvalued.
“That is a rather lazy analysis,” Mr Hockey said.
The treasurer said foreign investment in capital city dwellings may help address a shortage, denying there was any immediate risk of a bubble forming.
“State governments have to do some of the heavy lifting here… but I don’t see, at the moment, any substantial risk,” he said.
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