ABS Survey of the Real Estate Industry
2-Aug-2004
As part of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) commitment to providing statistics on a range of service industries in Australia, it is planning to conduct a survey of real estate businesses in respect of the 2002-03 financial year. The last survey of this type was conducted for the 1998-99 financial year, with the results available in Real Estate Services Industry Australia, 1998-99 (cat. no. 8663.0). The 1998-99 survey results showed that there were 7,589 businesses involved in the provision of real estate services. The total income generated from real estate activity was $3,903 million and the total number employed was 52,079 persons. The 2002-03 survey questionnaire will be despatched to a sample of real estate businesses across Australia in mid August 2003. The ABS will be collecting financial data on various income and expense items which should be readily available form standard end of year accounts. In addition businesses will be asked about the number, gender and occupation of persons employed at the end of June 2003. The questionnaire has been extensively tested with businesses in the real estate industry and has been well received. The information requested by ABS will remain confidential as it is collected under the Census and Statistics Act. This means that the data from individual businesses cannot be shared with any individual or other organisation, including other government departments. As a result data from this survey will only be released in an aggregated format so that details of individual businesses cannot be identified. Co-operation is sought from businesses to produce accurate and timely results in order to maximise the use of these new statistics within the industry. ABS will accept careful estimates if exact figures are not available. The results from the survey will continue to provide benchmarking data to enable a better understanding of the structure and performance of the industry. The survey will show the financial and employment profile of real estate businesses, along with some broad activity measures such as insurance premium changes, web usage and how properties were sold. This information should be of vital importance to the real estate services industry. Data from the real estate survey is expected to be available in mid 2004. Broader aggregate data will be available on-line and further detail will be available on request, subject to confidentiality. Further information on the survey can be sought from Marie Apostolou (03 9615 7465) or Tom Carrigg (03 9615 7599). Any assistance needed in completing the survey form can be obtained by contacting 1800 654 421.
