The Australian property market is in need of a boost after disappointing levels of building approvals over the course of 2012 so far, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) has claimed.
Approvals barely rose in January apart from in New South Wales, indicating the need for some kind of governmental intervention in the sector, HIA chief economist Harvey Dale claimed.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that approvals rose by 0.9 per cent in January following a slump of 0.8 per cent in December.
Dr Dale said: "Australia's interest rate settings are too high and there needs to be immediate government focus on policy reform to boost flagging levels of new housing supply."
He added that the role housing plays in stimulating the wider economy made it crucial that the government takes action on this issue.
This attitude was met with consensus across a number of Australian states, with HIA executive director for South Australia Robert Harding warning reform was needed to stop the state's downward decline.
