Dark horizon to Sydney's real estate

While Sydney consistently ranks in the top ten global cities for real estate, commercial data show that incoming cash is not being used for construction.According to the latest Housing Industry Association data, November was the 18th straight month that the national construction industry index has been wallowing in the red.Construction is in contraction, and that's not where anyone wants it.For a city that bathes as much in real estate success as it does in sunshine, those figures make developers warn of some very tough times ahead.Harry Triguboff, a leading developer in Australia said that a lack of production coupled with uncertain interest rate decisions from the central bank makes Sydney a difficult place to commit to construction, even though so many want to commit to buying."It's not good because if somebody wants to start building and he doesn't know what will happen with the interest rates then he's scared to build. That's one of the reasons why we never have enough production - because nobody knows what will happen from the point of view of the developer," Triguboff said. With rising immigration, an ageing demographic and a shift to inner city living, Sydney is choosing the wrong time to stop building.But while construction activity continued its malaise, Sydney remains the most active market for global real estate transactions, according to the latest Jones Lang LaSalle's Global Capital Flows report.While Sydney remains a leading destination for real estate capital, hitting an impressive 1.6 billion U.S. dollars of the third quarter direct investment sales, there is a growing concern that sooner, rather than later, Sydney will simply run out of places to live.