Victoria takes the lead in building conditions

Victoria has taken the top spot in the Housing Industry of Australia’s rankings of national residential building conditions.

The Scorecard ranks all states and territories based on residential building indicators, including detached house building, multi-unit dwelling building, renovations, construction labour force and housing finance.

Victoria emerged as number one, thanks to a strong level of building activity on the ground, consistently strong migration, substantial first home buyer incentives and a wave of affordability.

Tasmania took second place, with a strong level of detached home construction driven by migration. New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory were joint third.

HIA chief economist Tim Reardon says first home buyers taking advantage of improved affordability were a key market driver.

“The upside of the recent building industry cycle is that as activity levels have synchronised across the east and west coasts – and within each state – it has become easier for policy makers to coordinate policy settings,” he said.

The trend is supported by analysis in realestate.com.au’s July property report that reveals Melbourne is the dominant market for property seekers looking to buy new, with Melbourne suburbs taking the crown of views per listing.