Sales of new homes tumbled in October, according to a new survey of Australia’s largest home builders.
The latest HIA New Home Sales report, released this week, shows that sales of new homes fell by 22.8% during the month of October.
HIA Chief Economist, Tim Reardon attributes the fall in activity to the higher cash rate, but says there is still a lot of work in the pipeline.
“The increase in interest rates is compounding the rise in the cost of new home construction and further reducing the capacity of borrowers to finance the build of a new home”, Reardon said.
“Despite the fall in sales over the past four months, there remains a significant volume of home building underway, and many homes still to commence construction. This will ensure that work on the ground remains strong through 2023.”
In the three months to October 2022, compared to the previous three months, new home sales in Queensland were down by 31.9%, Victoria down by 22.8%; New South Wales down by 19.6%; and Western Australia down by 9.1%.
South Australia saw the only increase, up by 13.9%.
