Although demand for new Australian property is high, the cost of land is holding back building work.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) and RPData's Residential Land Report shows prices are high across Australia's capital cities, with Sydney and Perth proving the most expensive.
As a result, the only state that has seen improvements in residential land sales is Western Australia.
HIA chief economist Harley Dale said: "Ensuring readily available and affordable land forms a crucial part of the wider policy challenge of addressing the excessive and inefficient tax and regulatory environment faced by the new home sector."
Indeed, growth in the residential construction market has been slow. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have shown only moderate increases in building approvals throughout the year.
Even so, the demand for property is rising as strong clearance rates from weekend auction results have shown. This has caused increases in property prices and spurred fears of a housing bubble.
Posted by Craig Francis
