[26/08/2021]

As New South Wales & Victoria once again find themselves in lockdown to tackle the pandemic, new home sales have declined by 20.5% nationwide.

Though performing better overall than the same period in 2018, almost every state except Western Australia, recorded significant declines in past months.

Home Sales declined by 14.8% in NSW, 25.4% in Queensland, 29.4% in South Australia and 32.2% in Victoria.

Western Australia saw an increase of 8.5%.

The end of the HomeBuilder stimulus was a big factor in the decline in 2020s record new home sales, but last month’s decline has been at least partially attributed by the HIA to the lockdown.

In their monthly update on New Home Sales, the HIA stated that “with restrictions imposed on many markets, it’s not surprising that fewer people went out shopping for a new home” but prefaced that sales data over the coming months will indicate if lockdowns continue to “impair consumer confidence or if this July result is an anomaly.”

Source: HIA Media Release "Lockdowns weigh on new home sales in July" 11 August 2021.