The Triffids, Silverchair and Property

Wide Open Road by The Triffids is, in my view, the most evocative Australian pop song. You can almost see the red Western Australian sand between your toes as you listen to it. It evokes something completely different to The Whitlams singing about Newtown, or Crowded House complaining about Melbourne weather in Four Seasons in One Day.

Surprisingly, there is a link between the diversity of the Australian property market and the diversity of Australian pop. Each Australian property market is different and each capital city produces its own sound – often with songwriters reflecting their own locale.

Sydney’s auction clearance rate was 61 per cent this weekend – not a strong result after so many testosterone-filled weekends. It is now falling back after a couple of years of being ahead of the pack, just as Perth and Darwin are quiet at the moment.

In my home country, the UK, property is different. London starts to heat up and things radiate outwards, which means that there is much less of a sense of place in each city. Who cares that Duran Duran were from Birmingham?

Over the years Brisbane has produced the diverse sounds of Powder Finger and The Go-Betweens. Everyone knows that Silverchair come from Newcastle just as Cold Chisel started in Adelaide. Which begs the question, where will the next centre of activity be?

Other capital cities clearance rates are also, generally, in the 60-70 per cent mark. So, where will we see the next hot spot? Our media is dominated by news of Sydney and Melbourne, so I will leave you with the lyrics of Ben Folds:

A voice says
Why Adelaide
You could live anywhere and I say
Because I want to
Because I want to
I really really want to

And you know the earth could turn
Or crash and burn
And you would never know it
Really got to make it to the finish line
Get the record done on time
Pack the bags
And catch a flight