Report: New dwelling starts to shoot up in 2015

A recent report found the volume of new housing stock is not high enough to meet Australian demand, but also argues this situation will be rectified over the coming year.

RP Data and the Property Council of Australia released their Australian Residential Development Outlook for spring 2014, arguing that the Australian construction industry has produced 150,000 new homes on average every year over the previous 10 years. While a fantastic result from our boys working with trenchers and other building equipment, more had to be done. 

"At this level the country fails to build enough stock for Australians needing a home," the report states. 

This is optimistic news for tradies and construction workers, as it indicates the need for more employment opportunities in the future. In fact, according to the report, these circumstances are already under way. 

"Residential dwelling starts are expected to climb past the 180,000 mark in [the 2015 financial year] with a significant rise in multi-unit activity underpinning this result," says the report. 

The outlook also states that building approvals across the country have hit their highest number in 30 years, reaching 193,667 over the 2014 financial year. This is partly a result of significant gains in national population numbers, with growth expected to continue at approximately 1.7 per cent and overseas migration to keep increasing. 

Much of these gains are likely to be driven by growth in capital city populations. The Australian Bureau of Statistics expects 72 per cent of Australia's population to reside in the capitals by 2053, well up on the 66 per cent recorded in 2013. Those in the construction industry can therefore expect much of the future work to take place in the capitals. 

In addition to this, the outlook also stressed the importance of the housing industry to Australia's overall economic performance. Currently, with an estimated value of $5.4 trillion in August, housing assets are more than three times larger than the value of Australia's gross domestic product. 

Therefore, there will likely be a high priority placed on keeping residential construction strong for the sake of the wider economy.