Queensland the big winners, says HIA - New Home Sales up 24.9%

The following is an extract from a recent HIA media release:

Sales of new houses jumped 6.7 per cent in October, sparked by the one per cent drop in interest rates and tripling of the First Home Owners Grant in mid-October, according to the latest Housing Industry Association survey of major builders.

The big winners were Victoria and Queensland where new house sales jumped more than 20 per cent in October.  HIA Chief Economist, Harley Dale, said the result saw an increase in new home sales among Australia’s largest builders and developers for the first time since June.

Activity in the multi-unit sector failed to spark, with sales down by more than 8 per cent, indicating that investors are still sitting on the sidelines.

“Both new home sales and building approvals fell sharply over the first nine months of 2008. It will be a long road back, but it is hoped that an improvement in new home sales in October could mark the beginning of a stabilisation followed by improvement in leading housing indicators over 2009,” Harley Dale said.

Sales results were mixed across the five mainland states. Queensland and Victoria drove the better result with increases of 24.9 per cent and 20.3 per cent, respectively. These outcomes follow a very weak three quarters to September, particularly for Queensland. Sales in South Australia eked out a 0.5 per cent gain.   more >>

Morpheus Property continue to work collaboratively with HIA to improve buying conditions (particularly for first home owners) and welcome the recent news.

Yours in property!