Homebuilding activity soars

Despite a few negative headlines about some construction companies experiencing financial difficulties, Australia is actually in the midst of a homebuilding boom.

A record 143,037 new house builds were started in the year to March, according to the most recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Housing Industry Association economist Tom Devitt said the volume of detached houses under construction is almost 80% above pre-pandemic levels.

“This was driven by the combination of the HomeBuilder grant [which ran from June 2020 to April 2021] and record low interest rates," he said.

"Even after the end of the grant, all the extra time Australians were spending at home, either working or locked down, resulted in a pandemic trend towards space and amenity.

"This kept demand for new housing and renovations elevated. Other indicators, such as building approvals, finance approvals and new home sales, continue to show a strong volume of work entering the pipeline."

Mr Devitt said that with demand high, and supply constraints slowing down the pace of work, Australian homebuilders will be busy for the rest of this year and into 2023.