Housing approval numbers have just been released for December, and the numbers are great if you’re in the business of building houses.
They’re not just great… They’ve hit record highs on the back of the HomeBuilder stimulus package.
Not only did the numbers increase at the highest rate for almost 20 years (since April 2001) they also hit a record number.
According to ABS figures released today, 13,785 new detached home approvals were issued for the month.
Total approvals were also up, with 19,537 beging the highest monthly number since November 2017 when it hit 23,354.
Maree Kilroy from BIS Oxford Economcs was quoted by AFR saying that the numbers are expected to grow even further into 2021:
“The late surge in HomeBuilder applications before the December 31 deadline for the full grant is still yet to fully materialise in the approval data and this record may still be topped in coming months.”
Tom Kennedy, an economist from JPMorgan, also expected housing construction activity to remain strong:
“We expect housing to be one of the stronger components of GDP through 2021 given the combination of low mortgage rates, improving labour market conditions and relocation/mobility dynamics potentially supporting construction activity in regional areas.”
In further good news for tradies and builders, approvals for renovation work was also up in December.
They were up 8.1% in December, and an impressive 37.1% year on year.
These numbers only include renovations substantial enough to require building approval, so are therefore in addition to all of the smaller renovation works going on.
Thoughts?
How are you finding the current environment? Are you feeling the optimism out there around increased building activity?
Let us know…
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