DETACHED building approvals in February reached their highest level on record since the ABS began the series in 1983 according to the Housing Industry Association.<\/p>\n
HIA Chief Economist Tim Reardon said that HomeBuilder has driven strong demand for new homes across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cDetached house approvals in the three months to February 2021 were 50.7 per cent higher than the same time last year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is consistent with the results in more timely leading indicators such as HIA\u2019s New Home Sales Report<\/em>.<\/p>\n Mr Reardon said that report had indicated an elevated level of demand following the announcement of HomeBuilder in June 2020, with new home sales spiking in December as buyers moved to meet the deadline of the first phase of grants program.<\/p>\n \u201cNew Home Sales in March are expected to be comparable to those in December 2020 as home buyers rush to meet the deadline for the second, and final, phase of HomeBuilder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe record volume of work will see home building absorb workers from across the economy in 2021 and into 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n However, it wasn\u2019t all good news, with other elements of the residential building market still sluggish.<\/p>\n \u201cThis positive outlook for detached home building is in stark contrast to that of the multi-unit sector,\u201d \u00a0Mr Reardon said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe absence of overseas migrants and students will continue to impede multi-commencements. Multi-unit approvals remain lower by 21.6 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe apartment market is likely to be constrained until overseas migration returns,\u201d Mr Reardon concluded.<\/p>\n In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of detached dwelling approvals during the three months to February 2021 compared to the same time last year were highest in Western Australia (+138.6 per cent) followed by South Australia (+67.7 per cent), Queensland (+51.0 per cent), New South Wales (+32.0 per cent) and Victoria (+28.4 per cent).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DETACHED building approvals in February reached their highest level on record since the ABS began the series in 1983 according to the Housing Industry Association. HIA Chief Economist Tim Reardon said that HomeBuilder has driven strong demand for new homes across the country. \u201cDetached house approvals in the three months to February 2021 were 50.7 […]<\/p>\n