NZ market makes Australia jealous

More than 180 delegates from the New Zealand Property Council were in Sydney last week to bask in the glory of a bull market for property that is outperforming even Australia's.

"In my experience, I've never seen such a high level of demand for properties, from $500,000 to $100 million," said Colliers International's Alan McMahon, the council's chairman of research and one of the few New Zealand speakers.

The industry's only problem was its inability to meet demand.

"All sectors are on a growth path and there's a supply/demand imbalance," McMahon said, bemoaning the shortage of factories, shops and offices.

Too few properties for sale and too few quality malls, logistics centres, office towers and bulk retail outlets were the sector's only worries.

Low stamp duty, no capital gains tax, an attractive yield gap compared with Australian investment property and economic growth had combined to make the sector too good for many international companies to ignore.

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