Thursday’s lending indicators data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that loans for new home construction hit the six consecutive monthly record high in February 2021, surging 166% year-on-year:
Australian new construction loans hit their sixth consecutive month of record highs.
As noted by HIA Chief Economist, Tim Reardon:
“The number of construction loans to owner occupiers in the three months to February 2021 is 43.0 per cent higher than the previous quarter and is two-and-a-half times higher than the same time last year”.
Lending for renovations also hit their highest level since 2009, up 53% year-on-year in February:
Loans for renovations hit their highest value since 2009.
The big surge in demand for new homes and renovations is having a dramatic impact on Australia’s tradies, with job vacancies across the construction industry hitting a record high 26,700 over the February quarter, according to the ABS:
Construction industry job vacancies hit a record high in the February quarter of 2021.
The tourism industry’s loss from closed borders is clearly the construction industry’s gain, given Australians are spending their immense savings at home (literally), assisted by the federal government’s HomeBuilder stimulus.
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
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