Australia's residential building beats record

Residential home-building in Australia has built the record set in 1994.

Activity in the September 2015 quarter hit a quarterly level of 55,532, according to new ABS housing figures, with the historical high of 215,329 commencements for the year to September 2015 weighing in 15 per cent higher than the previous peak of just over 187,000  housing starts in 1994.

"As has been the case throughout the current cycle, the profile for national dwelling commencements masks large regional differences," explains Dr Harley Dale, Chief Economist at the Housing Industry Association,

Indeed, in the September 2015 quarter, new dwelling commencements increased in New South Wales (+2.4 per cent), Western Australia (1.7 per cent), South Australia (+1.2 per cent), the Northern Territory(+17.4 per cent), and the Australian Capital Territory (+0.4 per cent). Commencements fell in Queensland (-1.0 per cent), Victoria (-3.8 per cent) and Tasmania (-20.7 per cent).

"Today’s update for national new home building is a stellar result not only for the residential construction industry, but for the wider economy," adds Ja;e/

"Over recent years households and businesses have faced a barrage of negative chatter about below trend growth and downside risks to the economic outlook. Throughout this time new home construction has posted one of its longest upcycles in history – providing substantial support to Australia’s economic output and levels of employment."