Sales of new homes rose in June, for the first time in 2018, according to a monthly survey of Australia’s largest volume home builders.
The latest HIA New Home Sales report shows that new home sales rose 2.2 per cent in June 2018.
HIA Principal Economist Tim Reardon said that despite the bounce in June, sales during the entire 2017/18 financial year were 5.3 per cent lower than in the previous financial year.
“Even after this slow-down, overall building activity remains elevated when compared with building levels over the past decade.
New home sales rose in all states except Victoria, which have been in decline since February 2018 and declined a further a 0.4 per cent in June.
“Sales in NSW picked up in June 2018, by 8.3 per cent compared with the previous month, giving a positive end to an underwhelming year.”
Across the other markets, new home sales also rose in Queensland (2.7 per cent) and WA (1.5 per cent) and SA (0.2 per cent).
“ABS data shows approvals for private sector detached houses fell dramatically in May 2018. Approvals data typically trails the new home sales data by three to six months and the dramatic fall in approvals in May is likely to be reflected in the June data,” Reardon concluded.