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Western Australia has the strongest housing market in the country, while NSW has surged into second place, according to a new report.
The Housing Industry Association ranked all eight states and territories on residential building by comparing their current performance against long-term averages.
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Western Australia remained in first place with 82 points, despite falling eight points from the previous survey in November 2013.
NSW jumped from fifth to second after increasing its score from 60 to 77, while the ACT dropped a place after falling from 84 to 69.
Victoria and the Northern Territory tied for fourth with 68 points. Victoria’s position was unchanged despite losing four points, while the Northern Territory declined one place after dropping eight points.
The final three states held their positions from the previous survey. South Australia improved from 50 to 54, Queensland jumped from 41 to 50 and Tasmania grew from 31 to 36.
Housing Industry Association chief economist Harley Dale said the strong growth in NSW confirmed the view from the previous report that momentum was building in the state.
“Much of the recovery in NSW can be attributed to the surge in activity in the multi-unit sector, but the detached home market in NSW ranks among the strongest in the country,” he said.
“The renovations market remains a soft spot for NSW, but there are signs that conditions in this part of the market are improving.”
Mr Dale said he was concerned to see Tasmania remaining in last place.
“There have been some signs of improving conditions in the Tasmanian economy, but we are yet to see this flow through into the residential building sector,” he said.
[Related: Housing group says sales may have peaked]
