The preliminary data on construction and property work done in Australia during the September quarter has been released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, showing that new home building has continued to fall but that the number of renovations taking place is up.
Total seasonally adjusted residential building work done fell by 1.1 per cent to $11.4 billion (£7 billion) in the September 2011 quarter, while new residential work was down by 5.2 per cent from the figures collated at this point last year.
Andrew Harvey, Housing Industry Association (HIA) acting chief economist, admitted the figures were not positive for the residential market but noted one improvement.
"Renovations have not only held up well but continue to grow - the renovations side of the homebuilding industry is definitely the shining light at the moment," he said.
Earlier in the week (November 23rd) the HIA's Western Australian operation criticised the government's plan to roll out new rules regulating the purchase of property and real estate.
Posted by Ravin Chatlani
