Australian Property News

Self-managed super holders turn to property

Posted on Wednesday, May 05 2010 at 12:38 PM

Self-managed super fund (SMSF) holders are increasingly turning to the property market, according to accountancy firm Chan and Naylor.

"Increasingly our clients are saying they feel more comfortable with holding their retirement savings in property rather than shares," said Chan and Naylor chief executive Sal Carrero.

He said increasing awareness of the potential of SMSFs to borrow and invest is creating new demand for residential property.

"It seems Australians feel comfortable with property as an investment class," Carrero said.

"The global financial crisis prompted many Australians to ask themselves whether they could invest their own money better than their super funds, which is one of the reasons that SMSFs are growing in popularity," said Carrero.

He said that even if a small percentage of the nation's $1.3 trillion in superannuation savings are directed into new residential property, it will add substantially to the demand for limited housing stock.

With super savings of $150,000 sometimes enough to financially justify creating a SMSF, Carrero said SMSFs are no longer the exclusive domain of the wealthy.