According to the Housing Industry Association’s new home sales report, the number of new homes sales in Australia saw a small decline in July, dropping 0.4 percent from June. Despite this, sales in the housing market still remain at a historical high, Business Insider Australia reported.
HIA chief economist Harley Dale stated that there is “little prospect” for further growth in new home construction over the coming financial year. He added that the sector is now passed its cyclical peak and numbers will continue to decline.
“It appears that the cyclical peak for total new home sales occurred in April, but the subsequent downward trend is very mild,” Dale told The Australian Business Review. “The annual peak for detached house sales has passed with sales increasing only 0.7 percent in the month.”
From May to July of this year, detached house sales fell by 2.8 percent in the country. This is a decrease of 3.4 percent when compared to the corresponding period year-on-year. Apartment sales decline more dramatically in July falling by 4.2 percent. This is the second consecutive decrease as June recorded a 2.9 percent dip.
“Over the three months to July this year multi-unit sales increased by 8.3 percent, but it was the strength of the May result that drove the quarterly outcome,” Dale said.
It was not all bad news according to Dale. He is still upbeat on the outlook for the market in Australia over the next 12 months. “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 stated.
Housing prices in Australia’s big cities, including Melbourne and Sydney, has slowed, according to initial estimates from CoreLogic RP Data. The analytics firm added that the numbers so far point to a 0.5 percent gain in August, after increases of 2.8 percent in July and 2.1 percent in June.
