Population growth slows, but property demand high: HIA

The latest demographic statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics have found that population growth is slowing, however the Housing Industry Association has noted that there is still strong demand for housing.

HIA economist Geordan Murray said that the latest figures have found Australia’s population reaching 23.49 million people at the end of 2013/2014, or an extra 365,000 people.

“This is equivalent to a growth rate of 1.6% over the year. This annual growth rate is down from the 1.8% rate which applied at the end of the 2012/13 fiscal year, but is still well above the long term average,” said Murray.

“The natural increase in population (births minus deaths) added 152,173 people in 2013/14. This contribution was 6% lower than in the previous year.”

Net overseas migration slowed in 2013/2014, with 212,695 more people than those departing – about 10% less than 2012/2013.

“Compared with many other developed economies, Australia has been a star performer over the last few years,” he said.

“With shortages of skilled labour evident in many industries and a relatively strong looking economy, Australia has proved to be a very attractive destination for overseas migrants and was equally attractive for Australians who would have otherwise considered opportunities overseas.”

The strongest states for population growth over the year were New South Wales and Victoria.

“Last financial year both these states recorded their strongest annual population growth rates in over twenty years, excluding the period skewed by the GFC,” he explained.

Murray noting that the annual growth for Victoria was 1.9% and for New South Wales it was 1.5%. Western Australia, however, is the star performer with 2.2% population growth. However, this is down from 3.3% last year.

Queensland increased 1.5%, while South Australia grew by 0.9% and Tasmania recorded 0.3% growth. The Northern Territory and ACT saw growth of 1.0% and 1.2% respectively.