HIA’s Housing Scorecard benchmarks contemporary levels of activity in each state and territory against long term averages across indicators of home building and renovations activity, lending data and population flows. 

“The ACT currently has the weakest detached housing and renovations markets in the country and sits second last for multi-dwelling approvals.

“The number of new detached houses being approved and commenced has plummeted to its lowest level since before records began half a century ago.

“The ACT and the Northern Territory are the only jurisdictions where the volume of houses under construction is below their respective decade averages. 

“The fortunes of Canberra’s multi-unit market have also taken a tumble. The last year of multi-unit approvals has been the weakest in over 15 years, almost 50 per cent lower than its decade average in the most recent quarter. 

“The result has been a shrinking in the volume of multi-units under construction to its lowest volume in seven years. This is a dramatic turnaround from the significant volumes of apartment building undertaken in the nation’s capital over the last decade-and-a-half. 

“The ACT has seen the most dramatic deterioration in interstate migration flows of any jurisdiction. The most recent quarter reveals a net outflow of over 400 residents, compared to a decade average of nearly zero. 

“Failure to address the structural issues around land costs and regulations means residents could continue leaving the Australian Capital Territory.  

“HIA has welcomed recent changes to the planning system proposed by the ACT Government and believes that the ‘missing middle’ initiative has the potential to see significantly more low rise multi-residential dwellings delivered in the Capital.  

"However, in the absence of broader reform to impediments such as third-party appeals, lease variation charges and approval delays, there is a risk that these potential gains won’t be realised,” concluded Mr Weller.

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