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A deregistered builder has left over 230 unfinished homes in the lurch, South Australia has been named Australia’s best-performing economy, and have low building approvals put Australia’s yearly housing target in jeopardy?
Welcome to Property Buzz! I’m Orana Durney-Benson.
Today is Thursday, the 1st of August, and major building contractor Nicheliving has had its registration revoked by Western Australia’s Building Services Board after failing to meet financial requirements.
– Over 230 homebuilding contracts have been left unfinished. Affected clients have been advised to check their Home Indemnity Insurance policy for potential payouts.
– Western Australia’s building commissioner stated that building contractors must be able to demonstrate the capacity to meet debts as and when they are due, or face the consequences.
Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Bank has named South Australia the country’s top performing economy for the third consecutive quarter.
– South Australia’s strong job market and high construction activity pulled it to the top of the ranking, while New South Wales sunk towards the bottom on the grounds of poor retail spending.
– Across Australia, house price growth and housing finance performed strongly, with the country seeing an over 15 per cent rise in house prices year-on-year.
But moving towards construction, the 2023-24 financial year saw the weakest building approvals for housing in over a decade.
– Just 106,000 houses and 57,000 units were granted approval, the lowest figures seen since the GFC.
– Senior economist Tom Devitt noted that the total figure of 163,000 is far below the government’s annual target of 240,000 homes per year, and warned that high interest rates have taken a toll on the construction sector.
That’s all for today.
See you again tomorrow, the 2nd of August, for your daily dose of Property Buzz.
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