Bureaucratic stroke of pen boosts Perth, Gold Coast

PHOTO: Gold Coast

EXPERT OBSERVER

Why should property investors care that Perth and the Gold Coast are now considered “regional” towns instead of “metro” cities?

They should care because the change could have a significant impact on the real estate markets in those two cities, creating both opportunities and risks for investors. Here, I will explain why.

We all know that immigration is one of the reasons Australia’s economy has kept growing year after year, for the past 27 years. A provocative professor at the University of Sydney claims that Australia’s “economy is addicted to immigration” because —without the constant growth in population— our economy actually would have gone into recession several times over the past three decades.

Saving the country from recession isn’t enough anymore, however. The federal government wants immigrants to do more. That’s why it’s passed its regional immigration plan, which allocates 25,000 visas to immigrants who are willing to live for three years in regional Australia. After that, they can qualify for permanent residency.

The government billed the plan as a way to boost hardscrabble Australian bush towns.