Recent data shows a 5 per cent increase in the number of homes completed in WA in the March quarter.
Dwelling completions are picking up speed in Western Australia, with recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data showing a 5 per cent uptick in the number of homes completed in the March quarter.
The ABS’ latest building activity data shows in WA, there were 4,134 dwellings completed in the first three months of this year, compared with 3,927 in the December quarter.
Detached housing completions did not account for this increase, with a 243 drop in the volume of houses finished in WA in the recent quarter, from 3,548 to 3,305.
Meanwhile, the number of apartments or multi-units completed in this period increased by 450 dwellings.
Housing completions have however accelerated in the past 12 months, with a 9 per cent rise in houses being finished since the previous March quarter, when 3,023 houses were complete in WA.
As Housing Industry Association executive director WA Michael McGowan pointed out, in the final quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, more than 6,850 houses were completed.
“This is the strongest six-month performance for the state in almost five years,” he said
“There are still more than 21,000 houses under construction in WA which is more than triple (+213 per cent) its pre-pandemic levels.
“With many of the houses under construction now beyond the half-way mark we expect the number of completions to continue to grow over the next 12 months, providing some much need housing supply.”
Business News recently revealed that housing approvals in WA had reached a 40-year low, with 994 dwellings approved in the month to May 31.
ABS’ building activity statistics showed a 14 per cent increase in dwelling starts nationally, to 46,546, in the March quarter.
Private sector houses accounted for 26,026 of homes commenced, dropping by 5.5 per cent on the previous quarter, and private sector other residential commencements rose by 57.2 per cent to 19,344.
In the same period, the value of the nation’s total building work fell by 0.4 per cent to $30.7 billion.
In April, Business News reported that there was a record 21,524 houses under construction, as skills shortages and supply chain issues hamper delivery times.
