The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has released new home sales data for April, with sales down 1.2% over the month after trending down since December:
New research released today by property data house RPM shows a 28.5 per cent year-on-year decrease in vacant lot sales to 5285 from 6793 in 2021.
The Q1 2022 Greenfield Market Report indicated rising interest rates, inflation, supply interruptions and the end of pandemic-era government grants all contributed to dampening both demand and supply…
The median lot price is up 5.9 per cent to a record $366,000, while the size of lots decreased by 1.9 per cent to 370 sq m.
Increasing costs are pushing buyers into smaller lots and townhouses, he said…
Meanwhile, research house Red23 maintains affordability is the driver behind the drop in activity.
“Demand for land remains, but the shortage of current land availability is making it harder to determine the true value of demand,” Red23’s Mike Flynn said…
The number of new lots released to the market last quarter – 5130 – was 16 per cent lower than the average over the past nine quarters.
New home and construction finance commitments have halved from their February 2021 HomeBuilder peak:
Whereas dwelling approvals were down 36% year-on-year in March:
New home demand was obviously pulled forward by the HomeBuilder stimulus and record low mortgage rates. Now the tide is going out as the stimulus fades and mortgage rates ratchet higher.
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also Chief Economist and co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
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