State safe from big crash, says expert

TASMANIAN homeowners are being told to not worry about a report on a severe housing collapse in Australia.

Regulators have been warned to prepare contingency plans for a severe collapse in the housing market that could lead to a crisis in financial institutions.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 59-page assessment of Australia maintains that while the current trajectory of house price declines “would suggest a soft landing … some risk of a hard landing remains”.

However, Real Estate Institute of Tasmania president Tony Collidge said Tasmanian homeowners should not be worried by this report.

He said Australian property markets were driven by their individual economies and Tasmania’s outlook for the next five years was very positive.

Mr Collidge said markets like Sydney have been driven by investors, but Tasmania was very different, with 70 per cent of homes owner occupied.

“Things in Tassie are a lot more stable than in other states,” he said. “I can’t see anything coming out of left field to derail us. We are not going into a depression, tourism in Tasmania won’t stop overnight, the construction projects won’t stop overnight … the forward commitments are there and will insulate us for the next few years.”