New home sales dip down in Australia, latest data shows

Seasonally adjust new home sales in Australia were down marginally by 0.4% in July but the market overall is in strong shape, the latest report from the Housing Industry Association shows.

This is because overall new home sales are at historically high levels, according to HIA chief economist Harley Dale. ‘It appears that the cyclical peak for total new home sales occurred in April, but the subsequent downward trend is very mild,’ he said.

But he explained that key leading indicators of home building, including HIA new home sales, suggest little prospect for further growth in new home construction in the 2015/2016 financial year.

‘However, following three consecutive years of strong growth which has propped up the domestic economy considerably, both HIA new home sales and ABS building Approvals signal another healthy year for new home construction,’ he added.

Indeed, the data shows that detached house sales increased by 0.7% in July this year but the annual peak for detached house sales has passed. Over the three months to July this year detached house sales fell by 2.8% and are 3.4% lower when compared to the three months to July 2014.

Multi-unit sales peaked in May this year and fell by 4.2% in July following a decline of 2.9% in June. Over the three months to July this year multi-unit sales increased by 8.3% but it was the strength of the May result that drove the quarterly outcome.

A breakdown of the latest data shows that in the month of July 2015 detached house sales increased by 4.2% in New South Wales but fell by 2.3% in Victoria and by 4.9% per cent in Western Australia.

Sales were close to flat for the month in Queensland with a marginal fall of 0.6% and South Australia they were down by just 0.2%.