Residential building softens down under

Residential building softened at the end of 2013 in Australia, according to new figures from ABS.

The preliminary data shows that Australia's recovery in residential construction activity took "a backwards step" in the December quarter of 2013, said the Housing Industry Association.
 
“The overall value of residential construction work done on new dwellings declined by 2.5 per cent in the
final quarter of 2013. We are seeing good things across a number of leading indicators, but today’s data
reaffirms our view that the speed and strength of the recovery in residential building has been overstated
in some forums,” said HIA Economist, Geordan Murray.
 
“The improved levels of activity we have seen to date have been driven almost entirely by the multi-unit
segment. While this is an increasingly significant component of the housing mix, a true recovery in new
home building requires a consistent and aligned increase in detached homes as well as multi-units," he added.