August 2, 2010New home sales weakened further in June, reinforcing the case for a period of sustained interest rate stability, according to the
Housing Industry Association (HIA).
The latest HIA - Jeld-Wen New Home Sales Report, a survey of Australia’s major residential builders, shows the number of new homes sold fell by 5.1 percent in June.
HIA Chief Economist Harley Dale says with monetary and fiscal policy stimulus being phased down, new home affordability is bearing the brunt of high-cost regulation.
“Lack of readily available land and hefty infrastructure charges have combined with a chronic lack of development finance to put the brakes on sales and development activity,” Dale says.
“Concerted action is required to reduce the impact of regulation, development charging, and excessive taxation on the cost of new housing supply. Inaction means that Australia’s dwelling shortage will continue to increase, pushing up existing house prices and disadvantaging households seeking to purchase or rent a dwelling,” he says.
Detached house sales fell by 6.6 percent in June, while sales in the volatile multi-unit sector increased by 10.3 percent.
In the month of June, detached new home sales fell by 5.1 percent in Queensland, 10 percent in Victoria, 5.2 percent in Western Australia, 4.2 percent in South Australia, and 2.2 percent in New South Wales.
