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SA New Home Starts Edge Higher

20 January 2016

New home building starts in South Australia saw a slight increase during the September 2015 quarter according to ABS data out today, said the Housing Industry Association, the voice of the residential building industry.


"Having suffered a difficult June 2015 quarter, new detached house starts in SA then jumped by some

21.9 per cent during the September 2015 quarter in seasonally-adjusted terms," commented HIA Senior Economist, Shane Garrett.


In the September 2015 quarter, total new dwelling starts in SA then jumped by just 1.2 per cent compared with the previous quarter. Despite the increase in detached house commencements, the multi-unit side of the market endured a difficult few months with a 32.2 per cent drop compared with the June quarter. Overall, total dwelling starts remain over 10 per cent below their 2014 peak.


"While the rest of Australia has basked in record levels of new home building over the past twelve months, SA's home building industry has battled recessionary conditions amidst rising unemployment in the state," commented Shane Garrett.


"The huge taxation burden on new home building in SA is weighing down activity in the state and this problem urgently needs to be addressed. Stamp duty in SA is amongst the highest in Australia and the state is one of the few not to offer universal stamp duty concessions to the buyers of new homes. The state government needs to look at ways of reducing the suffocating burden of tax on new home building," concluded Shane Garrett.


Total Dwelling Starts - South Australia

Source: ABS 8752


4,000


3,500


3,000


Number

2,500


2,000


1,500


Sep-95

Sep-96

Sep-97

Sep-98

Sep-99

Sep-00

Sep-01

Sep-02

Sep-03

Sep-04

Sep-05

Sep-06

Sep-07

Sep-08

Sep-09

Sep-10

Sep-11

Sep-12

Sep-13

Sep-14

Sep-15

1,000


Seasonally Adjusted Trend


For further information please contact:

Shane Garrett, HIA Senior Economist on 0450 783 603

HIA - Housing Industry Association Ltd. issued this content on 2016-01-20 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 2016-01-22 02:29:07 UTC

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