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Staff Reporter
The volume of new home sales has rebounded nicely after a very weak January, new statistics have revealed.
According to the latest HIA - JELD-WEN report, new home sales showed a modest increase of three per cent in February 2012.
Detached house sales rose by 2.2 per cent, while multi-unit sales jumped by 10.5 per cent.
HIA chief economist Harley Dale said that any bounce in new home sales in February was encouraging after an awful start to 2012.
“Furthermore, it was the continued decline in Victoria from previous record highs which pulled new home sales down in February, while there was improvement everywhere else,” he said.
“Looking beyond just one month, however, there is much work to be done to see new home sales volumes back at healthy levels across the country.
“In a contemporary economic environment where interest rate settings are too high, finance conditions persistently tight, consumer and business confidence too low, and plans to tighten fiscal policy inappropriate, it is hard to envisage a sustained recovery in new home sales in coming months.
“However, the beginning of a recovery seems evident in Western Australia (but nowhere else) and the prospect of policy reform in New South Wales and Queensland increases the likelihood of a lift in new home sales volumes in these states through 2012/13. Obviously further interest rate cuts wouldn’t go astray in helping perpetuate this recovery.”
In February 2012 the number of seasonally adjusted new detached house sales increased by 12.8 per cent in Western Australia, 5.3 per cent in New South Wales, 3.5 per cent in Queensland, and 0.3 per cent in South Australia. Detached house sales dropped by 7.4 per cent in Victoria.
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