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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.
“Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth are seeing residential land values grow at a rapid rate, while Sydney and Melbourne’s values remain relatively stable,” stated HIA Senior Economist Matt King.
Plumbing and drainage inspections in the Huntlee and North Rothbury areas are moving from Cessnock City Council to Building Commission NSW.
The BASIX Transition period for eligible signed building contracts will end on 30 September 2024. BASIX Certificates must be generated by this date to apply the pre-1 October 2023 BASIX standards.
“As the number of new homes under construction continues to decline builders are reporting fewer difficulties scheduling skilled trades workers on their jobs, although availability of skilled workers remains worse than prior to the pandemic,” stated Geordan Murray, HIA Executive Director – Future Workforce.