New home sales hit the right note for the new year, posting a fourth consecutive monthly rise in January, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) announced this week.
The HIA New Home Sales report, a survey of Australia's largest volume builders, shows that total seasonally adjusted new home sales increased by 4.2 per cent in January 2013, reflecting a 4.0 per cent increase in detached house sales and a 4.9 per cent lift in multi-unit sales.
HIA Chief Economist Harley Dale remarked that it is a promising update to see the momentum of late 2012 carrying into the new year.
“Over the three months to January this year new home sales increased by 10.0 per cent, although sales volumes were still 6.4 per cent lower compared to the same period a year earlier”, Dale said.
“Sales of new detached houses have now increased over three consecutive months, a crucial improvement given the considerable weakness experienced through the majority of last year.”
He added, however, that the volume of detached house sales is still not much more than half the long term average.
In the month of January 2013 detached house sales increased by 9.1 per cent in Victoria, 10.6 per cent in South Australia and 7.4 per cent in Western Australia. Sales fell by 1.3 per cent in New South Wales and were down by 6.0 per cent in Queensland.
Over the three months to January 2013 detached house sales increased by 23.7 per cent in New South Wales, 10.8 per cent in Victoria, 13.2 per cent in South Australia and 7.6 per cent in Western Australia, but fell by 3.1 per cent in Queensland.