Aussie Sales Of Newly Built Homes Rise 4%

Source : The Business Times, July 29, 2008

Record immigration responsible for spike in demand in June

(SYDNEY) Australian sales of newly built homes rose in June as record immigration stoked demand for property even as living costs increased. Sales of homes advanced 4 per cent from May, the Housing Industry Association said in a report e-mailed to Bloomberg News yesterday. Detached house sales gained 2.6 per cent and sales of apartments surged 15.5 per cent last month.

Building boom: Home sales in New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, jumped 20.2% in June and sales in Western Australia climbed 16%

'Australia is seeing strong demand for housing, fuelled by record immigration,' said Harley Dale, chief economist at the Canberra-based association, which represents building companies.

Sales in New South Wales, the nation's most populous state, jumped 20.2 per cent in June and sales in Western Australia, centre of a resources boom, climbed 16 per cent. Still, total home sales across Australia over the first half of 2008 rose just 0.4 per cent as interest rates at a 12-year high and record fuel costs deterred purchases.

The report is compiled from a sample of Australia's 100 biggest residential builders to provide a leading indicator of housing. -- Bloomberg