The residential construction sector will remain busy next year, as pent-up demand due to the lockdowns rolls out.
Housing Industry Association chief economist Tim Reardon says interest in lower density housing is heightened and will continue in 2022.
“This shift is not just those in units moving to detached housing but includes a shift to fewer people per household,” he says. “We have seen a significant change in the volume, type and location of new homes. These trends are similar in other countries.”
Over the three months to October 2021, sales of new homes increased significantly in WA, NSW and Queensland – and overall new home sales across Australia increased 11.1% in the quarter.
“Sales since the end of HomeBuilder are the strongest since 2017 when over 115,000 detached homes started construction,” Reardon says. “This strong level of home building activity suggests that the current construction boom will be sustained throughout 2022.”
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, detached home approvals over the September Quarter were up 15.5% from the same quarter last year and 32% from 2019, while approvals for units increased 34% annually.
“Investors are looking through the haze of the pandemic to a brighter outlook on the other side,” he says.
