Apartment building activity turns positive for the first time since February 2018
The construction sector continued to recover in February, according to the Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Australian Performance of Construction Index.
The housing activity index surged to a new record high.
And apartment building turning positive for the first time in three years, the report noted.
Residential builders said advised their customers are asking for their projects to commence "as soon as possible" due to government grant eligibility.
Ai Group head of policy, Peter Burn noted the construction sector continued to recover in February building on the strong rebound that first emerged in October last year.
"House building activity further accelerated, and the apartment sector lifted firmly into positive territory in the month."
He suggested some of the surge in demand for new houses was now flowing into apartments.
The report noted builders are increasing their orders and some are still catching up on supplies after extended freight disruptions.
"While recent data has been encouraging, the immediate outlook is mixed with new orders higher only in the housing segment: they were flat for the apartment building sector, mildly negative for commercial building and sharply lower for engineering construction.
"With several components of fiscal stimulus winding down, delivery on the increased infrastructure pipeline will become a key swing factor in the continued recovery over the rest of 2021," Dr Burn said.
Builders in all sectors said that various delays are still occurring due to COVID-19, including delays to planning and finance applications, delays to essential supplies and localised skilled labour shortages.