{{propApi.title}}
{{propApi.text}} {{region}} Change location{{propApi.title}}
{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change location {{propApi.title}}
{{propApi.text}} {{region}} Change location{{propApi.title}}
{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change locationInterest rate uncertainty means other policy levers need to be pulled
Interest rate uncertainty means other policy levers need to be pulled
Member and guest login
Enter your email and password to access secured content, members only resources and discount prices.
Did you become a member online? If not, you will need to activate your account to login.
If you are having problems logging in, please call HIA helpdesk on 1300 650 620 during business hours.
Forgotten password
Need some help?
If you are having problems logging in, please call HIA helpdesk on 1300 650 620 during business hours.
If the email address you have entered is registered, you will receive an email with further instructions.
Become part of the HIA community
Enables quick and easy registration for future events or learning and grants access to expert advice and valuable resources.
Create a guest account
Enter your details below and create a login
The ABS released the Lending to Households and Businesses data for March 2024 today, which provides statistics on housing finance commitments.
“The number of loans issued for the construction or purchase of new homes was flat in March (+0.1 per cent), leaving the first three months of 2024 virtually unchanged compared to the same quarter last year (-0.1 per cent),” added Mr Devitt.
“This means the last 20 months of new home lending has been weaker than any equivalent period since the ABS started this data series in 2002.
“It is pointing to the weakest year of new house commencements in over a decade at the same time that record population growth is exacerbating Australia’s pre-existing and acute shortage of housing.
“Recent inflation data came in stronger than expected and has pushed back expectations of any interest rate cuts potentially into 2025.
“This reinforces the need to pull other policy levers to reduce the costs of construction and finance and enable a recovery in new home building.
“Tax reform is needed to bring investors back to the new housing market, especially with respect to the punitive surcharges imposed on foreign investors.
“Macroprudential rules need to make it easier for gainfully employed Australians to obtain a mortgage.
“More land needs to be made available for residential development of all types, in both our greenfield areas and existing suburbs close to jobs and transport.
“Changes to building codes are further inflating the costs of construction and need to be paused.
“It is possible to build the Australian Government’s target of 1.2 million homes over the next five years, but it will require significant lowering of taxes on home building, easing pressures on construction costs, and decreasing land costs,” concluded Mr Devitt.
In original terms, the total number of loans issued in the three months to March 2024 for the construction or purchase of new homes rose in Western Australia by 29.7 per cent compared to the previous year, followed by South Australia (+4.6 per cent) and Queensland (+0.5 per cent). The other jurisdictions saw declines in new home lending compared to the previous year, led by the Northern Territory (-45.3 per cent), followed by the Australian Capital Territory (-39.9 per cent), Tasmania (-17.9 per cent), Victoria (-9.9 per cent), and New South Wales (-5.6 per cent).
Lending for purchase and construction of a new home
For more information please contact:
HIA Planning Blueprint Scorecard Report
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has undertaken an assessment of National Cabinet’s 10 point National Planning Reform Blueprint including identifying, and in some cases re-defining, the key planning reform measures needed from the Blueprint to enable the delivery of National Cabinet’s Housing Accord target of building 1.2 million homes over the next 5 years.
New home building set to increase
“It is nine months since the RBA’s last rate rise and market confidence is returning. It is only the heavily taxed markets of NSW and Victoria that are yet to see a trough in detached home building in 2024,” stated HIA Chief Economist, Tim Reardon
New silica laws apply from 1 September
Following the introduction of the engineered stone ban around the country earlier this year, new rules when working with silica products will come into effect from 1 September.
ACT housing outlook remains bleak
“Detached home building in the nation’s capital is constrained, sitting at record lows, with the current affordability crisis expected to persist for years,” stated HIA Executive Director, Greg Weller.