New South Wales detached home building strongest in country: HIA

The Housing Industry Association’s Housing Scorecard report has found that New South Wales is a strong performer, having rapidly turned around over the past six months.

HIA chief economist Harley Dale said that the rapid turn of fortunes for New South Wales is evident.

“Six months ago we noted there was momentum building in NSW and this has been confirmed by the latest analysis. NSW is now the second strongest residential building market in the country, having been ranked number five only six months earlier,” said Dale.

“Much of the recovery in NSW can be attributed to the surge in activity in the multi-unit sector, but the detached home market in NSW ranks among the strongest in the country. The renovations market remains a soft spot for NSW, but there are signs that conditions in this part of the market are improving,” he said.

Western Australia topped the overall ranking, ahead of New South Wales, and these two states hold the lead strongly.

However, while it’s positive news for New South Wales and Western Australia, it remains less so for Tasmania – recording the weakest residential building sector in the country.

“This is an unenviable position the state has now held for six consecutive quarters. There have been some signs of improving conditions in the Tasmanian economy, but we are yet to see this flow through into the residential building sector,” he said.

The ACT, Victoria and the Northern Territory are very close in the middle of the group, with South Australia and Queensland seeing improvement but remaining just slightly more subdued.