A spike in new apartment sales has done little to improve property market sentiment, according to a leading economist, who has pointed out that detached house sales are running well below the 10-year average.
HIA’s latest report showed multi-unit buys were up 15.7% for June, in stark contrast to a detached housing increase of just 0.7%.
HIA's chief economist Harley Dale said both figures fall well below their 10-year average.
“It is…a stark reminder of how much catching up is left in the multi-unit sector,” he said.
The quarterly figures were even more concerning, said Dale. Sales of new houses were 24.5% lower than in June 2011.
“That’s a concerning update which sees detached house sales running at an annualised level 35% lower than the ten-year average and 44 below the long-term history of the series," he said.
HIA is again encouraging the government to introduce “investment and reform” to fully revive construction of residential properties.
However, Western Australia fared very well in seasonally-adjusted terms with a 23.5% increase in sales. Surprisingly, Queensland saw an almost equal amount of decline with a 21.1% fall.
