Building Industry Strong Despite Rising Costs
Victorian home building continues to rise with record numbers of homes under construction.
The latest ABS quarterly housing construction figures for Victoria underscore the challenges faced by Victorian home builders in managing record home construction, rising materials costs and labour shortages.
Commencements of detached homes rose by 5.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 in Victoria, from 10,005 to 10,539, with a record of almost 30,000 homes under construction. Total commencements for the last 12 months reached 46,651, also nearly a record high level.
“While there’s been a slowing in the quarterly growth figures, the volume of new homes under construction in Victoria is still 54% higher than pre-pandemic,” stated HIA Victorian Executive Director, Fiona Nield.
All the extra time Victorians were spending at home either working or locked down, resulted in a pandemic trend towards creating greater space and amenity. This has kept demand for new housing and renovations elevated post HomeBuilder. Other indicators, such as building approvals, finance approvals and new home sales, continue to show a strong volume of work entering the pipeline.
“The combination of all these demand and supply factors will keep Victorian builders busy in 2023” concluded Ms Nield.
