Fall in new homes Down Under

Australian property developers are feeling the impact of the financial crisis as less people look to buy newly built homes.

Recently published figures paint a picture of abstract misery across the home construction industry. New home sales during March fell to the lowest level for more than ten years and the knock on effect for the manufacturing and services sector is proving to be just as damaging.

The results of a survey based on sales from the country’s 100 largest builders reveal a drop of almost 10 per cent in new home sales during March. Multi-unit sales fell by 6.9 per cent and detached houses fell by 9.7 per cent.

Head Economist with the Housing Industry Association, Harley Dale is now urging the Reserve Bank of Australia to make a substantial cut to the official cash rate and believes that all Australian mortgage lenders need to pass all official rate cuts on in full in order to boost the new homes market and support the struggling housing market.