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HIA recently revealed Australia’s strongest markets for home building in the 2023 edition of the HIA Population & Residential Building Hotspots Report. The report identifies Australia’s fastest-growing suburban regional ‘hotspots’ based on population growth and also indicates areas with high levels of building activity and, therefore, employment for the building industry. Once again the HIA Hunter region was well represented in the report.
“Nine areas of the HIA Hunter region qualify as housing hotspots based on their strong performance in terms of building approvals and population growth,” commented HIA Hunter Executive Director Craig Jennion.
“Thornton-Millers Forest, is once again the HIA Hunter regions number one building hotspot with a population growth rate of 6.6% and $119.5 million in building approvals.
“Second on the list, Branxton-Greta-Pokolbin, had a population growth rate of 5.6% and $145.7 million in building approvals.
“Up one place from last year, Kurri Kurri-Abermain was ranked third with a population growth rate of 3.5% and $71.2 million in building approvals”, said Mr Jennion.
Of the nine hotspots, five are located in the Hunter Valley, three in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and one on the Central Coast.
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 2021/22 financial year, and its rate of population growth is faster than the 1.2 per cent national average.
“The report found that Australia’s population growth improved after being constrained in previous years due to closed borders, whilst 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 strong Hunter based areas in this edition of HIA’s Population and Building Hotspots Report,” concluded Mr Jennion.
Below is a table and map which details the nine HIA Hunter Region Building and Population Areas.
The Victorian Government has introduced the Labour Hire Legislation Amendment (Licensing) Bill 2025 (the Bill) into parliament. It amends the Labour Hire Licensing Act 2018 to address concerns about criminality in the construction sector.
“Sales of new homes for construction jumped 25.9 per cent in September following a series of policy changes, including a cut to the cash rate in August, removal of Lenders Mortgage Insurance and easing in planning restrictions,” stated HIA Chief Economist, Tim Reardon.
“Victoria commenced construction on just 7,650 new detached houses in the June quarter 2025, the weakest quarter for the state in almost 12 years and a new low for this cycle,” stated HIA Executive Director Victoria, Keith Ryan.
The Victorian Government has introduced the State Taxation Further Amendment Bill 2025 into Parliament. This Bill includes a number of tax changes, including the much discussed congestion levy changes.