Housing Industry Association announces the release of a new Discussion
Paper by HIA Economics, which focusses on some of the drivers behind the
changing composition of Australia’s new housing supply.
Detached housing is the predominant form of residential dwelling in
Australia with this segment still accounting for around 70 per cent of the
country’s total dwelling stock. However, there has been a discernible decline
in the detached house share of total new dwelling commencements over the last
20 years, with the trend accelerating considerably over the last few years.
‘Multi-unit’ dwellings are now a far more significant part of the new
home building market than at any other point in Australia's history. Representing
just 5 per cent of total housing commencements 20 years ago, the medium/high
density component of multi-unit commencements (units of three storeys or more)
has shown an incremental increase in share, reaching around 25 per cent in 2014.
However, with a total housing stock of around nine million homes, it
will take many years for the incremental changes to make a material impact on
the overall composition of Australian housing.
The Discussion Paper by HIA Economics examining the changing composition of Australia's
new housing mix, also covers elements of supply, demand and the policy
environment, all of which are influencing the change currently occurring in
Australia's new housing mix.
