Australian Home Sales Fall to 4 Year Low in July

Australian new home sales tumbled to a four-year low in July, driven by a sharp decline in apartment sales.

According to the Housing Industry Association (HIA), total sales fell by 3.7%, adding to the 6.9% fall recorded in June and now sit at the lowest level since August 2013.

The HIA said the decline was driven by a large 15.7% slide in apartment sales, another sign that attempts to limit investor activity in Australia’s housing market from regulators may be starting to bite.

While sales of detached housing fell by a smaller 0.4%, had it not been for a large spike Victoria, that too would have been an ugly reading.

Total sales in Australia’s fastest growing state jumped by 9.8%, offsetting large declines in South Australia (16.2%), Queensland (16.1%), Western Australia (9.1%) and New South Wales (5.2%) during the month.

The strong performance in Victoria may have been due to stamp duty concessions for first-home buyers that began on July 1.

Reflecting the weakness seen over the past two months, total sales volumes over the first seven months of the year were down 4.6% on the same period in 2016.

via Business Insider

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