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The ABS released the Lending to Households and Businesses data for January 2024 today, which provides statistics on housing finance commitments.
“Lending for new homes was at record lows in 2023, and this downward trend continued into the new year,” added Mr Reardon.
“This leaves the number of loans for new dwellings down by 8.7 per cent in the three months to January 2024 compared to the previous year.
“This is consistent with other leading indicators of home building activity, such as new home sales and building approvals which continue to show a slowdown in 2024.
“The RBA’s rate hiking cycle caused consumer confidence to decline and home buying activity to consequently fall.
“The decline in lending is not consistent across jurisdictions, with the slowdown most evident in New South Wales and Victoria, due to the higher cost of delivering a new home in these markets.
“It now takes 2.5 average incomes to service a typical mortgage in Sydney.
“Western Australia, on the other hand, is continuing to show signs that it is out of sync with the rest of the economy. This sees new home lending in Western Australia up by 23.2 per cent compared to the previous year. Strong income growth, employment growth and relatively more affordable homes are offsetting the adverse impact of the rise in the cash rate," concluded Mr Reardon.
In original terms, the total number of loans issued for the construction or purchase of new homes increased in South Australia (+1.9 per cent) and in Western Australia (+23.2 per cent) compared to the previous year. The other jurisdictions saw declines in new home lending, led by Tasmania (-40.3 per cent), followed by the Australian Capital Territory (-36.6 per cent), the Northern Territory (-26.9 per cent), New South Wales (-23.7 per cent), Victoria (-10.6 per cent) and Queensland (-3.3 per cent).
The following is attributable to Tim Reardon, HIA’s Chief Economist
October is National Safe Work Month, which is an important time for both employers and workers to focus on, and commit to, promoting safe and healthy workplaces, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA) Chief Executive – Industry & Policy Simon Croft.
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that while new home building approvals in the ACT have lifted slightly in 2025, the pace of growth remains far too slow to meet the territory’s housing needs.
HIA have been lobbying for changes to streamline the process which will allow certifiers to issue Certificates of Occupancy (CoO).