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With Victoria normally a major target for international students who tend to stay in high-density accommodation, that market has virtually come to a standstill.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the three months to February 2021, the volumes of new approvals for apartment and unit buildings in Victoria was down 59 per cent on the previous year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a huge hit on what had been a solid market sector, and which will undoubtedly take quite some time to recover,\u201d Ms Casson said.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re also witnessing a decline in Victoria\u2019s labour market as Victorians appear to have headed out of the state after the pandemic damage to our local economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Villawood Properties executive director Rory Costelloe said Victoria\u2019s strong performance with house building approvals was due to a combination of the First Home Owner Grant, stamp duty exemption and HomeBuilder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHomeBuilder, especially, has driven a hive of activity since it was announced in July but sales in the last few weeks show the heat of the market coming off since HomeBuilder finished,\u201d Mr Costelloe explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the next six months, we can expect a return to a more normal market.<\/p>\n
\u201cHigh-density building is low, obviously, because there are no Asian students and there\u2019s no incentive to buy high-density.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no stamp duty exemption for buying off the plan, it was abolished, so why buy apartments before they\u2019re built, especially if their quality is sometimes questionable?<\/p>\n
\u201cWith no incentives to buy before they\u2019re built, and no-one buying off the plan, the banks won\u2019t finance high-density building because they haven\u2019t got any pre-sales, so everything comes to a complete halt.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe incentive to buy that\u2019s needed is the re-introduction of stamp duty exemption for Australian buyers only.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would encourage a higher percentage of Australian ownership of high-density building.\u201d<\/p>\n
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MASTER Builders Victoria (MBV) says the latest updated building forecast data shows Victoria is well ahead of the national pack, recording the highest number of detached house building approvals over the past year. As of February 2021, Victorian approvals accounted for more than 30 per cent, or one third of all new detached house approvals […]<\/p>\n