Dwelling approvals
The total value of new loan commitments for housing hit $24 billion in November, a rise of 5.6 per cent on October and 23.7 per cent higher than the same month a year earlier.
Minister for Housing Michael Sukkar said the highly successful HomeBuilder scheme had now generated upwards of $18 billion of residential construction projects since its inception.
“Every additional building approval and every addition home sale means more work for our tradies and activity in our economy at a time it needs it most.
“The extension of HomeBuilder also ensures there will be a steady pipeline of construction activity through to 2022 to lock in this momentum for the construction sector,” Sukkar said.
In the four months leading into December, there were 26,300 applications for the $25,000 federal HomeBuilder grant for new builds, which has been extended until March at a reduced level of $15,000.
There were also 6,200 applications for the grant for “substantial” renovations.
Amid a much better than anticipated recovery from the Covid-19 recession, economists said the signs were good that approvals would continue to climb in the months ahead.
“Record lending for the construction of dwellings in December and building incentives—including the HomeBuilder extension and first home owner building grants—will fuel further strength in building approvals,” ANZ economist Adelaide Timbrell said.
“The key downside risk for 2021 approvals growth is Australia’s ongoing closed international borders, which will slow demand for housing from immigration and temporary international student and worker populations.”