Building activity figures released by the ABS show that the home building recovery has brought activity to its highest in 20 years, said the Housing Industry Association (HIA). Source: Timberbiz
“The fact that new home building has reached a 20-year high is very welcome,” said HIA Senior Economist, Shane Garrett.
“Back in early 2012 when activity was so low, the prospect of breaking through 180,000 starts within a couple of years was beyond almost everybody’s most optimistic expectations.”
“There is, however, no avoiding the downside apparent in today’s figures.
“The multi-unit dwelling segment saw a sharp fall during the second quarter of this year, with detached house building also nudging down a little.
“On the renovations side the volume of work done also fell, with a 3.0% reduction in activity during the June 2014 quarter.”
During the June 2014 quarter, new housing starts totalled 45,527 in seasonally adjusted terms.
Despite representing a 6.9% decline on the previous quarter, the figures mean that total starts during 2013/14 was 180,833. This was the highest 12- month total since March 1995.
During the June 2014 quarter, detached house commencements slipped by 1.1% while other dwellings (multi-units) saw a 15.0% slide in seasonally-adjusted terms.
“The new HIA Economics report Housing Australia’s Future estimates that about 186,000 new dwellings will be required annually between now and the year 2050,” said Mr Garrett.
“Even in such a strong upturn, we are still short of this requirement today. This is a stark illustration of the serious supply-side issues which will need addressing.”
“A number of factors continue to plague the capacity of the new home building sector.
“These include high taxation, stamp duties, planning restrictions, and delays in making residential land available.
“Failure to tackle these constraints will mean that the ability of the industry to provide for Australia’s long-term housing requirements will continue to be seriously undermined.
During the June 2014 quarter, new home starts declined in most states. These included New South Wales (-12.% ), Victoria (-3.3%), Queensland (-1.3%), South Australia (-1.7%) and the ACT (-48.0%).
Three states saw building commencements rise during the quarter, namely Western Australia (+2.0%), Tasmania (+28.7%) and the Northern Territory (+18.3%).
