Aussie sales of newly built homes rise 4%

July 29, 2008
Aussie sales of newly built homes rise 4%
Record immigration responsible for spike in demand in June

(SYDNEY) Australian sales of newly built homes rose in June as record
immigration stoked demand for property even as living costs
increased. Sales of homes advanced 4 per cent from May, the Housing
Industry Association said in a report e-mailed to Bloomberg News
yesterday. Detached house sales gained 2.6 per cent and sales of
apartments surged 15.5 per cent last month.

'Australia is seeing strong demand for housing, fuelled by record
immigration,' said Harley Dale, chief economist at the Canberra-based
association, which represents building companies.

Sales in New South Wales, the nation's most populous state, jumped
20.2 per cent in June and sales in Western Australia, centre of a
resources boom, climbed 16 per cent. Still, total home sales across
Australia over the first half of 2008 rose just 0.4 per cent as
interest rates at a 12-year high and record fuel costs deterred
purchases.

The report is compiled from a sample of Australia's 100 biggest
residential builders to provide a leading indicator of housing.