Billionaire Solomon Lew says there is some danger for property buyers in the sharp rise in house prices – but he says record-low interest rates are unequivocally good for businesses.

Mr Lew, who sits at No.17 in the BRW Rich List with an estimated personal wealth of $2 billion and was a board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia from 1992 to 1997, has built his empire on retail businesses but also has extensive property holdings.

Asked on Friday if he thought there was a house price bubble, Mr Lew said foreign investment and record-low interest rates had helped push up house prices sharply, so there was some danger now for buyers.

"Is there some kind of danger? Potentially yes," Mr Lew said. "Foreign investment has pushed prices a lot higher." And an extended period of low interest rates had pushed house prices up substantially.