Australia’s world-leading property addiction

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By Leith van Onselen

Capgemini and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has released their 2014 Asia Pacific Wealth Report, which reveals that Australia’s high net worth individuals (HNWIs) have the biggest appetite for residential property in the world despite increasing concern that there might be a property bubble developing in Australia:

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At 33.1%, the allocation by Australian HNWIs to real estate was the highest in the world [global average 19.5%], though it represented a drop from 40.6% a year earlier. Record low interest rates in the country could be sowing fear of a property bubble, explaining the drop. Correspondingly, high allocations to real estate resulted in lower allocations to other asset classes for Australian HNWIs, compared to HNWIs elsewhere.

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.