WA sustains strong new home sales

Western Australia continues to record a strong recovery in new homes sales, despite a decrease in overall national sales and new building approvals, a new Housing Industry Association (HIA) report reveals.

The state had a 0.6 per cent increase in new home sales in May 2023 compared to the previous month, a 19 per cent increase from the same quarter a year before.

According to HIA’s WA executive director Michael McGowan, the state’s lower vacancy rates and strong economic position compared to the eastern states has remained attractive for investors.

“The positive news comes on the back of this week’s migration data which showed 38,000 overseas arrivals and over 10,000 interstate arrivals chose to make Western Australia their home over the last 12 months,” he said.

“This has added to demand for new housing in defiance of the Reserve Bank’s interest rate increases over the last year.”

Mr McGowan said although the data is promising, it was important to maintain housing affordability to avoid negatively affecting the housing market.

“Remaining attractive to investors is as important part of increasing housing supply and diversity,” he said.

This report followed recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data which revealed house building approvals experienced a decline of 5.8 per cent in the three months to April 2023, down 23 per cent from the previous year.

WA currently has more than 27,000 dwellings under construction across the state.