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Builder caps drive down new Perth home sales

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The number of new home sales has fallen, but it’s not due to waning buyer interest.
Camera IconThe number of new home sales has fallen, but it’s not due to waning buyer interest. Credit: kadmy/Getty Images/iStockphoto

WA’s new home sales fell 11.5 per cent in September, but it was not due to waning buyer interest according the Housing Industry Association executive director Cath Hart.

“The decline is because many builders are capping their monthly sales,” she said.

“They’re doing this so they can navigate shortages in titled land and labour, and delays in lending and local government, as they try to meet the difficult timeframes required for work to start on site for the (building stimulus) grants.

“Even with those caps in place, they’re still worried that some consumers will miss out because industry is struggling to meet the required timeframes to start work.”

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Despite the monthly drop in sales, Ms Hart said new home sales in WA remained at historic highs.

Sales for the September quarter were 36.8 per cent higher than the June quarter, and 147.5 per cent higher than the same period last year.

“We saw a sharp increase in sales straight after the stimulus packages were announced which propelled activity from a historic low to an historic high in a short space of time,” Ms Hart said.

“Sales over the four months that the schemes have been operating are 143.5 per cent higher than the previous four months, and well above levels that we have seen for many years.”

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