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The Report is aimed at finding employment growth areas targeted towards builders and tradies and identifies Hotspots in all states and territories. Once again the HIA Hunter region was well represented in the report.
“No less than 11 areas of the Hunter region qualify as housing Hotspots based on their strong performance in terms of building approvals and population growth,” commented HIA Executive Director for Hunter, Craig Jennion.
“Thornton – Millers Forest, is again the HIA Hunter regions number one building hotspot with a population growth rate of 9.3% and $129.2 million in building approvals”.
“Second on the list, Branxton – Greta – Pokolbin, had a population growth rate of 5.2% and $121.1 million in building approvals”.
“Third was Warnervale – Wadalba on the Central Coast with a population growth rate of 4.2% and $103.2 million in building approvals”.
“The report found that whilst Australia’s population growth was constrained due to closed borders the value of building works approved and the growth rates of the local population has been very high locally”.
“COVID-19 has also seen consumer preferences shift away from inner-city apartment style living to detached housing in regional areas. This shift saw more Hunter based areas in this edition of HIA’s Population and Building Hotspots Report,” concluded Mr Jennion.
An area qualifies as a Hotspot in the Hunter Valley and Central Coast region if at least $50 million worth of residential building work was approved during the 2020/21 financial year, and its rate of population growth is faster than the 0.2 per cent national average.
Below table details the 11 Hunter Region Building and Population Areas.
**SAs with an excess of $50 million in residential building work approved in 2020/21 and with an annual population growth rate in excess of the national rate of 0.2%
Source: HIA Economics
| Statistical Area Level 2 | Statistical Area Level 4 | Residential Building Approved 2020/21 ($'000) |
Annual Population Growth Rate (%) |
| 1 Thornton - Millers Forest | Hunter Valley exc Newcastle | 129,178 | 9.3 |
| 2 Branxton - Greta - Pokolbin | Hunter Valley exc Newcastle | 121,123 | 5.2 |
| 3 Warnervale - Wadalba | Central Coast | 103,187 | 4.2 |
| 4 Kurri Kurri - Abermain | Hunter Valley exc Newcastle | 91,603 | 3.8 |
| 5 Maitland - West | Hunter Valley exc Newcastle | 144,764 | 3.7 |
| 6 Williamtown - Medowie - Karuah | Hunter Valley exc Newcastle | 94,731 | 3.4 |
| 7 Newcastle - Cooks Hill | Newcastle and Lake Macquarie | 93,539 | 3.3 |
| 8 Edgeworth - Cameron Park | Newcastle and Lake Macquarie | 67,931 | 3.1 |
| 9 Morisset - Cooranbong | Newcastle and Lake Macquarie | 77,222 | 2.9 |
| 10 Warners Bay - Boolaroo | Newcastle and Lake Macquarie | 69,248 | 2.3 |
| 11 Maryland - Fletcher - Minmi | Newcastle and Lake Macquarie | 50,557 | 2.3 |
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has welcomed the Tasmanian Government’s move to crack down on copper and scrap metal theft, warning that construction site theft is adding to the risk that insurers are pricing into premiums for Tasmanian builders.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) welcomes the Queensland Government’s continued investment in enabling infrastructure through Round 2 of the $2 billion Residential Activation Fund, but the funding must be tightly targeted to ensure it genuinely delivers new housing supply,” HIA Executive Director Queensland, Michael Roberts, said today.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) will be sending a simple message to the inquiry into Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on residential property when it appears before the Select Committee on the Operation of the Capital Gains Tax Discount tomorrow – if you tax something more, you will get less of it.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has today welcomed the Tasmanian Government’s finalisation of the Building Amendment Bill 2026, ahead of its imminent introduction to Parliament. The Bill will formally pause further implementation of new National Construction Code (NCC) requirements in Tasmania.