Housing helps NSW claim the nation’s best economy

The importance of the housing industry to the New South Wales economy has again been illustrated by the release of a new report.

Released last week, the Commonwealth Bank’s State of the States report puts NSW’s economy as the nation’s best, thanks in part to strong performances in the areas of dwelling starts and housing finance.

According to the report, NSW remains the nation’s best state for the construction of homes, with dwelling starts over 52% above decade averages as of the end of October.

In the June quarter alone, starts were 11.4% higher than a year earlier.

Victoria is the next best performer in the sector; with starts 41% above the decade average, while in terms of annual growth starts are 54% higher in Tasmania than they were a year ago.

NSW is currently 16.3% above its decade average for housing finance, while Victoria and the ACT are 11.7% and 10.3% above their long term averages respectively.

In all other states and territories, finance levels are below their 10-year averages.

While the statistics paint a strong picture for the NSW economy, policy makers have been urged to continue working to ensure the state meets housing supply requirements.

“There is no doubt that the housing market is booming in NSW, but our concern is that even in these boom times dwelling completions are not reaching the average required over a 20-year period,” Urban Taskforce Australia said.

“The need for more dwellings in NSW is emphasised by the Department of Planning & Environment’s Sydney Metropolitan Development Program results for last financial year which recorded 27,348 dwelling completions against a target of 33,200 a year.”

According to the State of the States report, NSW is also the number one state for population growth and retail trade.

Victoria’s economy, which is second to NSW in the areas of population growth, retail trade and dwelling starts, is the nation’s next best performer, while the Northern Territory and Western Australia are tied for third.

Queensland takes out fifth spot, with the ACT in sixth, while South Australia and Tasmania are seventh and eighth respectively.

• SHARE