Australia’s Housing Market Growth Well On Recovery Track

The number of home-building permits issued by Australia’s government surged by 10.8% in July compared with the previous month, the latest figures published by the country’s statistics bureau show.

The nation’s housing market was given a huge boost by the historic-low interest rates which brought the level of building approvals in July twice as high as the rate projected by economists. This strong growth in approvals, which also reflects the number of applications, is a result of the government’s efforts to foster non-mining sectors, The Wall Street Journal commented.

The statistics report also shows that year-on-year, the number of dwellings approved for construction soared by 28.3%, reaching 14,304 in July. Seasonally-adjusted, the value of residential units approved for building added 1.3%, while the value of total building approved rose by 5% after declining 10.5% in June.

The figures build on data related to property market trends in the country’s capital cities; they provide additional evidence of the property sector’s recovery. Data from researcher Australian Property Market shows that in the last couple of months, the number of sales of new property at auctions in both Sydney and Melbourne has surged to record highs, with prices of houses rising 7% since mid-2012.

Commenting on the figures, CommSec chief economist Craig James said the increase highlights the housing sector revival, predicting that the favourable interest rates will keep backstopping the market in the mid-term.