While Canberra has the third highest median house price in Australia, prices are likely to grow further over the next few years, even as other housing markets stagnate or go into decline.

The reason why Canberra’s housing market thrives when others barely survive is because many of the city’s 30,000 businesses benefit directly from federal government procurement decisions and programs, which often increase during economic downturns.

Government administration produces nearly one third of the Australian Capital Territory’s economic output and indirectly accounts for over forty per cent of its workforce, so whenever the number of public servants in Canberra increases, housing demand grows there as well.

The total number of Canberra based public servants is now at a record high, but it is highly likely to grow even more. There will be a massive rise in the number of public servants needed to administer the government’s economy rebuilding programs which will be launched later this year to get the economy moving again.

Because most of the new public servants will be on short term contracts, they may only initially intend to reside in the national capital for a few years.

This means that they will prefer to rent well located, well-appointed low maintenance dwellings rather than buy a property, and they will also prefer to live in units because of Canberra’s bracing climate.

Canberra’s most popular suburbs for unit renters are located in the entertainment precincts of Civic, Braddon and NewActon, offering a popular mix of shopping, cafes, fine dining and exciting nightlife experiences.