Sales of new homes in australia on the up
The HIA report shows that new home sales continued their modest moves up and away from 2012’s record lows in May 2013. Total seasonally adjusted new home sales increased by 1.6 per cent in May 2013, taking monthly sales back to their highest level in 18 months. Detached house sales posted modest growth of 0.9 per cent through gains occurring in three out of five mainland states – New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
Multi-unit sales enjoyed a faster monthly growth pace of 5.7 per cent.
“It is pleasing to observe upward momentum in new home sales continuing, especially given the low depths plumbed in 2012,” said HIA Chief Economist, Dr Harley Dale.
In the month of May 2013 detached house sales increased by 4.3 per cent in New South Wales, 8.8 per cent in Victoria, and 6.9 per cent in South Australia. Detached house sales fell by 2.2 per cent in Queensland and by 10.3 per cent in Western Australia.
“A range of housing indicators, including new home sales, suggest Australia experienced modest growth in new residential construction in 2012/13, with some momentum in activity set to carry into the fresh financial year,” added Dale.
“That outcome was important, following as it did a sustained period of weakness which saw activity in a majority of markets reach historically very low levels.”
“The key is whether a new home building recovery can be sustained, and at a growth rate sufficient to meaningfully assist the Australian economy with its rebalancing acts,” he noted. “We won’t get that required outcome while policy makers continue to assume that super low mortgage rates will do the job all on their own.
“There needs to be a concerted focus, led at a Federal level, on policy action to deliver sustainably higher levels of new housing supply. HIA’s Housing Australia’s Future Summit being held in Sydney tomorrow will investigate the causes behind and solutions to demand and supply side constraints in the context of the future levels of residential construction activity Australia requires.”