New home sales strongest in three years

THE Housing Industry Association’s (HIA) latest report will be good news for a government hoping to see the Housing Accord back on track.

New detached sales jumped by almost 20 per cent in the three months to June, a new industry report shows.

The HIA New Home Sales report comes at a time when national Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows a rebound in new building commencements.

While the figures will please the Albanese government, they are still way off the pace to hit the 1.2 million 2029 target.  

HIA chief economist Tim Reardon said: “Sales of new detached homes increased by 18.8 per cent in the three months to June 2025 compared to the previous three months.”

The monthly survey of the largest volume home builders across Australia’s five largest states and is a leading indicator of future detached home construction, according to Mr Reardon, who added: “This is the strongest performance for new home sales in almost three years.

“The rise in sales reflects the impact of two cuts to the cash rate this year and EOFY incentives that have been on offer given the competitive nature of the home building market.”

Low levels of unemployment, a recovery in wages and demand from ongoing population growth have all contributed to the upswing.

But it is not all good news.

Elevated land costs and supply constraints are having an impact.

“Western Australia’s builders continue to be constrained by labour shortages, preventing them from taking on more work despite ongoing strong demand for housing,” he said.

“The ongoing $10,000 incentive for construction workers to relocate to Western Australia attempts to resolve this issue.

“Despite expected further cuts to the cash rate and a recovery in market confidence, there remains a shortage of housing in Australia due to the tax and regulatory barriers to increasing supply.”

All states had increased new home sales in the June quarter 2025 compared to the previous quarter.

They were led by Victoria (+27.7 per cent). This was followed by Queensland (+26.2 per cent), Western Australia (+11.3 per cent), South Australia (+9.9 per cent) and New South Wales (+9.3 per cent).