NEW SOUTH WALES

New Home Sales in NSW increased by 19.9 per cent in April 2023. This uptick is due to numbers increasing from a very low base from the previous month. The numbers for this quarter are down by 4.2 per cent compared to the previous quarter. Compared to the same quarter in the previous year, new home sales are down by 70.5 per cent.

The latest building approvals data from the ABS indicates that building approvals in NSW have declined by 14.8 per cent in the March Quarter 2023. Compared to the same quarter in the previous year, building approvals have declined by 18.9 per cent

New Home Sales in Victoria have increased by 0.3 per cent in April 2023. It appears that these monthly numbers remain stable but are lower than longerterm periods. To the quarter, new home sales are down by 6.4 per cent. Compared to the same quarter in the previous year, numbers are down by 46.3 per cent.

The latest building approvals data from the ABS indicates that building approvals in Victoria have declined by 7.4 per cent in the March Quarter 2023. Compared to the same quarter in the previous year, building approvals have declined by 7.7 per cent.

New Home Sales in Queensland have increased by 3.2 per cent in April 2023. These numbers are still 10.9 per cent lower than the previous quarter. New home sales remain down by more than half compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

According to the latest ABS data on building approvals data in Queensland, numbers were down by just 11.6 per cent in the three months to February compared to a year earlier, indicating there are still a significant number of previous sales yet to reach the point of approval. As these sold projects progress, approvals numbers are expected to continue declining in Queensland.

New home sales in WA have increased by 8.6 per cent in the month of April 2023. WA is unique compared to the other states in that the monthly rise in numbers is consistent with longer-term trends, as opposed to rising off relatively lower numbers. WA has seen an increase of 37.1 per cent in new home sales compared to the previous quarter to be 9.8 per cent higher than the same quarter in the previous year. If WA continues to see this upwards trend, it may be on track to see the best recovery out of all the jurisdictions across Australia.

The latest data provided by the ABS on building approvals in WA show an 8.7 per cent increase in March 2023. Compared to the previous quarter, approvals are down by 12.9 per cent to be 24.5 per cent lower than the same time the previous year

New Home Sales in SA rose by 17.1 per cent in the month of April 2023. This is partly due to a pickup from below average numbers the previous month. The numbers have fallen through the quarter by 24.3 per cent. Compared to the same quarter in the previous year, new home sales are down by 13.7 per cent.

The latest approvals data from the ABS shows that building approvals have decreased by 7.5 per cent in the March Quarter 2023 to be 3.1 per cent lower than the same quarter in the previous year

NEW HOME SALES: PERCENTAGE CHANGE

Note: All comments and percentage movements relating to Net Sales refer to data that have been calculated after allowing for seasonal influences.

PRIVATE HOUSES AND UNITS: SALES AND APPROVALS (a)

Notes:

(a) New information on state market shares had led to an upward revision to sales levels, but has not substantially altered the new home sales cycle. Survey results have been obtained from State-wide estimates using weights based on financial year market shares of private dwelling commencements. Due to different weighting, state totals may not necessarily add to the national figure.

(b) Does not include Tasmania, ACT or the Northern Territory.

(c) The survey sample includes multi-unit builders who only sell direct. na: insufficient sample size