More Victorian houses were approved for construction in July than any month since 2018.
More than 3000 new houses will be ready to commence construction across Victoria by the end of October after the state recorded its strongest housing approval figures since 2018.
But the number of those added to the state’s construction pipeline and economic recovery before the Melbourne Cup will depend on how rapidly builders can exit stage four restrictions.
New houses account for almost 3300 of the 5064 dwelling approvals recorded across the state in Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for July.
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Across all builds, including apartments and units, the figure represents a 400 home (9.3 per cent) jump from June, still below figures seen earlier in the year.
But for new houses, the figure is the highest since October 2018.
Housing Industry Association chief economist Tim Reardon said while July approval figures were up nationwide, they were linked to sales made up to eight months prior and reflected builders’ confidence returning after the first lockdown rather than buyer demand.
The latest figures show builder confidence, rather than buyer demand.
“All you can tell from this data is that the number of slabs poured in three months time will reflect these numbers,” Mr Reardon said.
State Jobs Minister Martin Pakula yesterday confirmed the industry would be part of the state government’s road map out of lockdown being announced on Sunday.
Under stage four, new house construction is limited to five tradies on site at one time, with a cap on the number of sites they can attend a week, while larger builds are limited to 25 per cent of their normal workforce.
Restrictions currently limit the number of trades people allowed on site at new builds.
HIA Victorian executive director Fiona Nield said how fast the industry could turn the approvals into jobs would hinge on decisions being made this week.
“It will depend on how the restrictions are eased going forward, but I expect some of the home builders will be trying to play catch up,” Ms Nield said.
“But inevitably there are going to be some delays.”
Woodlea project director Matthew Dean said the Aintree housing estate being developed by Mirvac and Victorian Investments and Properties could ramp up to 50-75 per cent of its workforce on site rapidly once they were cleared to do so.
The Woodlea estate has almost 500 houses under construction already.
“We have the workforce there waiting to go,” Mr Dean said.
At present they are slowly progressing 500 new homes, preparing another 300 lots for construction and building the community’s town centre.
Urban Development Institute of Australia Victorian chief executive Danni Hunter said weaker figures for multi-unit development were still a concern.
She said while that part of the industry had the potential to deliver large numbers of jobs, it may need further government assistance.
Despite this, the industry was well placed to kickstart the state’s economy, Ms Hunter said.
“The bottom line is we have proven we are really good at working hand in glove with government and health requirements as an industry,” Ms Hunter said.
To date, developers and builders have used a mix of social distancing, on-site temperature checks and mobile COVID-19 tests to stop the virus’ spread.
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