The national survey of property industry professionals shows we still face an uphill battle to change negative perceptions of our region.
The Property Council of Australia-ANZ property industry confidence survey reveals nearly half of those surveyed across the country believe economic conditions will deteriorate in the Illawarra this year.
Only one in four thinks conditions will deteriorate in Newcastle; one in five in Sydney.
This region needs to be fighting harder than ever to compete for the limited investment dollars around.
That means convincing potential investors that, despite the BlueScope Steel job cuts last year, we still have a good news story to tell.
As Property Council Illawarra chair David Laing argues, that storyline is strong; projects at the Innovation Campus, GPT’s $200 million commitment to the city centre and Stockland’s Shellharbour expansion forming a major part of the script.
But the investment dollars won’t come in if the message doesn’t get out.
And if the dollars don’t come in, we won’t put a dent in the jobs crisis.
It’s time for our leaders to become much better story-tellers and to tell the story far and wide.
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