South Australia’s property market is booming and the state has also been crowned the top economy in the nation for the third quarter in a row, according to a new report.
A solid job market and construction activity has seen South Australia top the economic performance leaderboard in the latest CommSec State of the States report.
The report found that a solid job market and construction activity has propelled South Australia ahead of second-placed Western Australia.
South Australia was the most consistent performer, taking out the top spot on three of the report’s eight key economic indicators – relative unemployment, construction work done, and dwelling starts.
Western Australia remains in the second spot and is fast closing in on first place – leading on relative population growth and home lending.
Victoria remains in third place, with the ACT in fourth position.
The previously equal fourth-placed states of Queensland (now fifth), Tasmania (now sixth) and NSW (now seventh) all dropped down the leaderboard, while the Northern Territory remained in eighth spot.
Senior Economist at CommSec, Ryan Felsman, said across the country, the economic performance of Australia’s states and territories was supported by both strong employment and population growth, at a time of higher-than-desired price inflation.
“While South Australia retains first place, Western Australia is seeing the strongest annual economic momentum, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming quarters,” Mr Felsman said.
“New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland slipped down the rankings this quarter.
South Australia ranked first on three indicators, including dwelling starts, construction work done and unemployment.
But the economy has lost momentum in recent months due to weaker consumer and business spending.
Western Australia ranked first on relative population growth and home lending.
The West currently has the strongest annual economic momentum and appears primed to challenge for top spot in the next survey.
Victoria ranked third on three of the eight indicators, while coming second on retail spending.
The ACT ranked first on economic growth, retail spending and equipment investment, but is held back by lower rankings for the remaining indicators.
Queensland was ranked fourth on four indicators, but its strong labour market supported economic growth.
Tasmania cames second on two indicators, but housing activity has slowed recently.
NSW has solid population growth, but retail spending was pressured by higher borrowing costs.
The Northern Territory ranked eighth on six indicators, but retail spending has held up solidly over the past year.
Mr Felsman said the state economies had slowed as consumers responded to higher borrowing costs and price pressures.
“The future economic path will be dependent on the resiliency of the job market and interest rates,” he said.
Dive deeper into the report here.
