New home sales heading up
New home sales have seen their second consecutive month of increases.
New home sales have seen their second consecutive month of increases.The Housing Industry Association’s (HIA) New Home Sales Report has shown a 1.1% increase in new home sales during May. The outcome was driven by a 2.2% rise in detached house sales, though a 2.6% fall in multi-unit sales dampened the result.
Queensland saw the largest rise in new detached home sales over the month at 31.1%, while New South Wales followed at 16.8%. Other states saw declines, with some falling significantly. Detached house sales fell 15.6% in South Australia and 14.7% in Victoria, while Western Australia saw a 3.4% decline.
“The results for May again demonstrate how stark the differences currently are across Australia’s markets,” HIA senior economist Shane Garrett said. “Very robust increases in new house sales occurred in Queensland and New South Wales during May, in contrast to Victoria and Western Australia where sharp contractions were experienced during the month.”
Garrett said the results were consistent with the HIA’s forecasts.
“A modest contraction will continue to occur in detached house starts across Australia up until the end of the decade, whilst a much bigger reduction in multi-unit commencements is anticipated to continue over the coming years as activity retreats from the unprecedented levels of recent years,” Garrett said.
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