The number of new home commencements increased by 26.6% to deliver 33,761 dwellings in the December quarter according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Building Activity Data.
“HomeBuilder has driven the highest level of new home commencements in more than 20 years.” said Michael Sukkar, Assistant Treasurer, Minister Housing, and Minister for Homelessness, Social and Community Housing.
“This record level of new home construction is protecting the more than one million jobs reliant on a strong residential construction sector.”
HomeBuilder’s success is well recognised by the industry with Tim Reardon, the Housing Industry Association’s Chief Economist, stating that:
“This isn’t the peak of building commencements. We anticipate that commencements will reach a new peak in mid-2021. This will see a very strong level of building activity into the middle of 2022.”
Most importantly, the demand for new homes is driven by first home buyers, not investors. Tim Reardon states that:
“The segment of the market that has driven the bulk of this record level of demand is first home buyers who have accounted for over 40 per cent of all loans in recent months. This contrasts with the investor-driven demand of the previous cycle.”
The number of first home buyers are at their highest level since 2009 with the support of HomeBuilder, the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme and the First Home Super Saver Scheme.
The Morrison Government is delivering on our commitment to support the construction industry and first home buyers alike.