Sydney home building at 16-year high: HIA

NSW Government figures showing new home building in Sydney at a 16-year high have been welcomed by the Housing Industry Association.

HIA Senior Economist Shane Garrett said these figures from the NSW Department of Planning & Environment indicate that 30,191 new homes were completed in Sydney during 2015/16, the highest since 1999/2000.

“This represents a 10.4 per cent increase on the previous financial year, with multi-units now accounting for two out of every three new homes in the Sydney area,” he said.

In 2015-2016, 30,191 new houses and apartments were completed, up 10 per cent year-on-year, figures from the Metropolitan Housing Monitor released to Fairfax Media on Tuesday found. This compared to 30,520 new homes built in 1999-2000, when builders were rushing into the market before the introduction of GST in July 2000.

About 40 percent of the completed houses and apartments were concentrated in six local government areas, including the City of Sydney, Blacktown, Camden, Parramatta, Liverpool and The Hills.

“The output of the residential building industry has provided homes for almost 80,000 people in the Sydney area during 2015/16 alone. It is important that Sydney’s dwelling stock expands in order to accommodate the strong, migration-driven growth in the local labour market," he said.

“The strength of new home building in Sydney over the past few years owes much to the low interest rates in place, as well as the rebound in tourism and skilled services in the city.

“However, obstacles with respect to planning, land supply and the affordable delivery of housing infrastructure all risk preventing the Sydney economy from reaching its full potential over the long term."