New home sales moving away from record lows
Monthly sales of new homes are at their highest level in 18 months, research from the Housing Industry Association (HIA) has shown.
The HIA New Home Sales report showed that total seasonally adjusted new home sales increased by 1.6 per cent in May, taking monthly sales back to their highest level in a year and a half.
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Detached sales achieved only a modest growth of 0.9 per cent in NSW, Victoria and SA, while multi-unit sales experienced a faster monthly growth of 5.7 per cent.
HIA chief economist Dr Harley Dale said it was good to see new home sales moving away from record lows experienced in 2012.
“It is pleasing to observe upward momentum in new home sales continuing, especially given the low depths plumbed in 2012,” Dr Dale said.
“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,” said Dr Dale. “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,” he added.
