New home sales nationally fell by 12.6% in May after the draw forward in sales in April due to increases in costs associated with National Construction Code (NCC) 2022. The HIA New Home Sales report is a monthly survey of the largest volume home builders in the five largest states and is a leading indicator of future detached home construction. Source: Timberbiz
“The changes to the NCC 2022 came into effect in Victoria and Queensland for any new home building contract signed from 1 May 2024,” HIA Chief Economist Tim Reardon said.
“These two states have seen a decline in sales in the month of May as a result of the pull-forward in April to get ahead of the cost increases due to NCC 2022,” he said.
This was a repeat of the experience of New South Wales in September when it introduced its energy efficiency standards. Sales in the months thereafter fell as a result of this pull-forward.
“The draw forward in sales distorts the new home sales dataset, which makes it difficult to ascertain the market trends,” Mr Reardon said.
“The increase in the cost of construction driven by increased regulatory requirements, and higher interest rates, will further impede the goal of increasing the supply of housing and place more pressure on public housing requirements.
“If governments want to increase the supply of homes, they need to, at the very least, stop making new homes more expensive.”
He said that lowering the cost of delivering new homes to market was essential to achieving the Australian Government’s target of 1.2 million new homes over the next five years and improving housing affordability across the country.
Sales in the month of May increased by 15.1% in New South Wales, followed by Western Australia (+14.6 %) and South Australia (+3.2 %). The other states recorded monthly declines in sales, led by Victoria (-41.0 %) followed by Queensland (-10.3 %).
