What do Australians think is the most secure asset?

Helen Baker, licensed financial adviser and spokesperson at Money, believes the results show Australians are still confident in the property market despite the pandemic.

“Our property market has shown resilience over the past six months, with house prices not falling nearly as low as experts had predicted at the start of the shutdowns,” Ms Baker said.

Not only do Australians believe it is the most secure asset class, the results showed Australians believe it has the best long-term returns, followed by the sharemarket and gold. 

Buying property in an SMSF

The extent to which Aussies feel property will continue to perform strongly is in the high proportion, four in 10 would consider investing directly into property through an SMSF.

“This high level of confidence is also echoed in the fact that many would invest in property within a self-managed super fund to fund their retirement. However, not many people know how to establish a self-managed fund,” Ms Baker said.

When asked what types of property respondents would be most interested in investing in their SMSF, the majority of respondents (66 per cent) said residential houses, 39 per cent said residential apartments, and 34 per cent said commercial property.

Over the long term, direct property investments have provided stable income and strong capital growth, making it an attractive core investment avenue for wealth creation. In Australia, direct property accounts for 15 per cent of SMSF asset allocations

“Starting your own fund is quite complex, with strict guidelines to follow, so I always encourage people to seek qualified advice from a professional. I also advise Australians to do their own research, particularly when investing in real estate. While setting up a self-managed super fund can be complicated and time consuming, it often reaps substantial benefits in the long term for those whom it may be appropriate to.”