The Housing Industry Association (HIA) is projecting 2021 to be a record year for detached home-building activity – but which markets have experienced the strongest activity?
Over the 12 months to September 2021, around 146,000 detached homes are expected to commence construction. A huge chunk of these projected construction starts are situated in regional areas.
"Australia’s population growth has been constrained due to closed borders. COVID-19 has also seen consumer preferences shift away from inner-city apartment style living to detached housing in regional areas," said Angela Lillicrap, economist at the HIA.
An area qualifies as a hotspot if it has at least $150m worth of residential building work approved over the previous financial year and its population growth is faster than the 1.3% national average. HIA listed 20 building hotspots, 11 of which are in Victoria.
Victoria's Mickleham — Yuroke was identified by the HIA as the top spot for building activity. The market reported a population growth rate of 32.8% and $412.1m in building approvals.
The table below shows the 20 hotspots for building activity:
