The number of new homes started in Victoria reached a three year high in the September 2014 quarter, fuelled by a rise in activity for new multi-unit developments like apartments and townhouses.

New figures released show that construction started on 14,500 new homes in the quarter, an increase of 130 compared to the previous quarter and some 3500 more than the same time a year earlier.

“We are seeing strong, consistent growth in home building activity, which is great news for builders, subcontractors and tradespeople working on these sites,” said Master Builders Chief Executive Officer, Radley de Silva.

“There has also been a sharp rise in the number of new homes receiving planning approval at the end of last year, which will help drive a strong pipeline of activity too.”

Source: ABS 8752.0

Nationally, Victoria continues to pave the way for the building of new homes, with more work taking place here than in New South Wales or Queensland.

Source: ABS 8752.0

While the number of new homes being built improved, the volume of home renovations, alterations and additions work did fell for the third quarter in a row.

There was a 6.6 per cent drop in the volume of renovations work for the quarter.

“Home renovations activity skyrocketed throughout much of 2013 and 2014 and the latest figures show the volume of work is perhaps returning to a more normal level,” said Mr de Silva.

Non-residential activity has, however, climbed up for the fourth successive quarter.

“The rise in non-residential building activity is modest, but ahead of the trends we are seeing in states like Queensland and South Australia,” he said.

“The quarter produced the highest volume of work we have seen here in Victoria since late 2010.

“The twelve months to September 2014 saw an additional $300 million worth of work in non-residential construction compared to the previous year, highlighting that this part of our industry is picking up steam.”

Source: ABS 8752.0

While the news for non-residential construction was pleasing, there was a decline in the amount of engineering construction works.

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