Joe Hockey has rejected as “lazy analysis” claims the housing market is in a bubble and risks crashing.



The Australian treasurer says there are insufficient houses to meet strong local and international demand.

“It is just an easy mantra for international commentators and for analysts based overseas to just say, well you know there’s a bit of housing bubble emerging in Australia,” Hockey told a Bloomberg event in Sydney on Tuesday.

“That is a rather lazy analysis ... I don’t see at the moment any substantial risk.”

He also dismissed suggestions the property bubble was “credit-fuelled”.

“There’s a lot of cash going into the property market,” he said.

“In some parts of Australia, in Sydney, Melbourne and to a lesser degree in Brisbane, we’re seeing quite a bit of new foreign investment into new dwellings.

“That may well continue for some period of time.”

International investment in Australia’s housing market “may well increase” with a cooling of the Australian dollar, the treasurer said.

Hockey urged state governments to do some of the “heavy lifting” in increasing housing supply.