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Hitwise Search Intelligence has the potential to reveal consumer searches on key industries that stimulate government state investment. In the Hitwise Australian Government Report to be published this month, I examined property searches to give state governments an indication of consumer interest in property investments vs. house rentals:
Property Investment Searches

House Rentals Searches

Property investment searches in the top 10 were primarily directed at international rather than domestic locations, including, Florida, Thailand and Spain, for the 12 weeks ending February 18, 2006.
As expected, house rentals were based on domestic searches, but it's interesting to note the order in which consumers searched: Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Busselton, Gold Coast and Sydney were in the top 10 searches, for the 12 weeks ending February 18, 2006. Other states and their metropolitan centers, such as Victoria -Melbourne and ACT - Canberra were notably missing from the top 10. Comments on this welcome..
Posted by Sandra Hanchard at 11:19 AM
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The appearance of two Western Australian locations is no doubt a consequence of the resources boom. But an increase in rental property searches in Perth and Busselton? Who knows.
Miners frequently work one week on, one week off and have to live somewhere during the weeks off. Perth is well serviced by transport (air/rail) and would appear to be a logical choice for semi-permanent accommodation.
Busselton however is a sparsely populated area north of Margaret River and south of Bunbury that is popular with tourists and the 'Seachange' set. It could be a reflection of an increasing need for service industries as a result of the boom - which would would apply equally to Perth.
Posted by James Frost | March 2, 2006 01:33 PM