Australia's housing market staged a comeback in the March quarter as home building activity jumped more than 10 per cent on the back of renewed interest in flats, units and townhouses, figures showed today.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said, on a seasonal basis, the number of new homes and units built were up 10.6 per cent to 39,219 for the quarter.
Over the year, home building was up 4 per cent.
The sharp spike in building activity followed falls in the previous two quarters and occurred ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to raise interest rates in May.
The ABS said new private sector housing rose 3.9 per cent to 25,738 for the three months to the end of March.
New private sector other residential building climbed 26.3 per cent to 12,048.
Economists had expected dwelling commencements to have fallen in the March quarter in the aftermath of first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data.
Commonwealth Bank chief economist Michael Blythe said the strong result indicated the recent slowdown in housing over the last 18 months was shaping up to be one of the mildest on record.
"It's not to say there is another housing boom under way but the housing side of things will not be a huge drag on the economy in the next year," he said.
