hia report favourable towards renovation market

Survey indicates a recovery in housing:
Confidence within the stagnant Australian housing market is showing signs of a recovery, with two thirds of Aussies saying they intend to either buy a new home, or renovate, within the next 12 months, according to a new survey conducted by homesite.com.au and the Housing Industry Association (HIA). However, affordability is confirmed as the main barrier for those not currently considering purchasing a new home.

The survey of more than 28,000 people across Australia reveals:

A healthy optimism towards housing and renovating – 69 per cent of Australian households are planning to be active in the new home or renovating market over the next year.
Affordability is the biggest barrier to not buying a new home - 58 per cent of respondents who hadn’t bought new property in the past year, nor were looking to in the next year, said they simply couldn’t afford it.
The most active new home market in Australia was Western Australia with 12 per cent of surveyed households having bought a new home in the past year.
The softest market over the past year for new home buying was the ACT with only 6 per cent having purchased a new home.
The most active renovation state over the past year was Tasmania with nearly a quarter of all surveyed households reporting some form of renovation activity.
Surfing the internet and strolling through display homes were the two most common information sources for potential new home buyers.
HIA’s Executive Director Housing and Economics, Simon Tennent, said that with the housing industry well down on previous years, it is pleasing to see a healthy level of positive sentiment towards new housing and renovation activity.

“The increase in the number of first home buyers intending to purchase a home is welcome news, as is the increase in the number of households intending to renovate in the next year,” Mr Tennent said.

Mr Tennant continued “The housing affordability problem, however, still looms large with the report clearly showing it to be the biggest barrier to home ownership. That aside, the survey provides a fascinating insight into the highs and lows of home building and renovating among Australian households.”

“The report card for Australia’s builders is a good one with high levels of satisfaction among households who have had a home built or renovated, while for local councils, red tape and regulation were almost universally the biggest headache.”

homesite.com.au managing director, Nic Jones said, “This survey gives builders and those in the renovation industry an edge when predicting market trends. One of the many marketing virtues of the internet is the ability to collect data on consumer thinking and behaviour.”

“We believe this national survey will assist those in the housing industry plan and manage future projects. I look forward to building on the strength of our relationship with the HIA.”

The online survey – the most comprehensive report on current attitudes - had more than 28,000 respondents nationally and ran for one month from March 13 to April 13 2006. Future homesite.com.au – HIA Housing Sentiment Reports will be released bi-annually.

more info www.homesite.com.au