The jump in Australian property building approvals in November has been hailed as encouraging by Master Builders Australia (MBA), but the construction industry body has warned the sector is not out of the woods yet.
More rate cuts may be needed to continue the revival, according to MBA.
Peter Jones, MBA chief economist, said dwelling approvals were still down by almost 20 per cent compared to last year.
Despite the fact that unit and apartment sales had seen a slight boost in November, the industry was still under pressure to increase volumes, the economist added.
"Builders are reporting falling sales and forward orders as consumer caution, European economic woes and difficulties accessing finance work against any recovery," noted Mr Jones.
He pointed out that the figures remain in line with the predictions from the latest MBA survey, which found that builders expected jobs to be lost if construction continued to struggle.
Housing Industry Association chief economist Harvey Dale recently argued that further rate cuts could shore up consumer confidence in the housing market.
Posted by Craig Francis
