AUSTRALIA’S reputation as one of the least affordable places to buy or rent in the world has seen the property market named the worst thing about the country — but even that won’t stop buyers.
The allure of real estate here continues to hold firm compared to other destinations, with the latest WorldFirst Australian Liveability Ranking showing Australia’s property ranking above average for the rest of the world.
The rankings — where expatriates and overseas-born residents rated Australia against the rest of the world — saw rental prices named the worst thing about Australia (5.2/10) with house prices coming in a close second worst (5.5/10).
Brisbane safe as houses: RBA survey
Shock as parents buy preschoolers’ new home
The country’s political wrangling hasn’t done it any favours with politics named the third-worst thing (5.9/10) followed by the cost of living (5.9/10).
The best thing about Australia was its quality of life, according to the survey of people born in the UK, Ireland, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Korea, India, Philippines, North America and New Zealand.
Quality of life had the top score of 8.2 for Australia — one being “very poor” and 10 being outstanding in comparison to their birth country.
Safety (7.7), the weather and healthcare (both 7.5), wages (7.4), work/life balance (7.2) and career opportunities (7.0) all ranked the highest.
WorldFirst head of foreign exchange Patrick Liddy found the results encouraging given none of the Australian rankings were below four.
“Even the worst aspects of Australia — our property and rental prices — scored above five, which means they are just above average.
“While it may seem that most people move abroad for work-related reasons, quality of life and safety are Australia’s biggest drawcards.”
And, he said, all job-related factors were part of Australia’s top 10 best offerings.
FOLLOW SOPHIE FOSTER ON FACEBOOK