Sarah Courtney,Minister for Building and Construction
Tasmania’s housing sector remains the strongest in the nation, confirmed by the latest housing finance data release by the ABS today.
These strong results are testament to the Hodgman Liberal Government’s plan to increase the availability and affordability of homes in Tasmania’s housing market.
They also show the confidence of Tasmanian families to continue to invest in our State and Tasmania’s housing market.
Lending for the construction of new homes in the year to January 2019 grew by 15.9 per cent, compared to the previous year, which was the highest growth rate in the nation.
Tasmania was also the only State or Territory to see growth in finance commitments for owner occupied housing, up by 4.4 per cent in January 2019 compared to January 2018, which stands in stark contrast to the national average (down by 10.6 per cent during the same period).
Importantly, the number of First Home Buyers entering the market also grew, up by nearly 20 per cent in the year to January 2019, which was nearly five times higher than that seen nationally. This equates to nearly 2000 first home buyers buying their first home in Tasmania in the year to January 2019, showing the growing confidence of Tasmanians to invest here.
This is great news for Tasmanians, as it demonstrates that the housing market remains strong and that the pipeline of new construction work is continuing to increase Tasmania’s housing supply.
