Tasmania’s building and construction sector is going from strength to strength, stimulating the economy and creating jobs throughout the State.
The latest data from the ABS on housing finance shows Tasmania is the only state or territory in Australia to see growth in housing finance commitments over the year to September 2018, with the number of housing finance commitments growing 3.3 per cent in trend terms compared to September last year.
This is the 10th consecutive month that Tasmania’s housing finance has grown, when most other jurisdictions are seeing monthly declines.
As part of this, the State has also seen a boost in housing finance for the construction of dwellings, which increased 13.9 per cent in the year to September 2018, compared to the previous year – this was the second highest growth rate in the country.
This follows ABS data released last week which confirmed Tasmania had the nation’s highest annual growth rate in the value of building approvals in the year to September 2018.
This is all testament to the Hodgman Liberal Government’s plan to boost the State’s building and construction sector, including initiatives such as extending the First Home Owner Grant. And, over the past year to September, the number of first time buyers taking out finance increased by 13.8 per cent.
This shows Tasmanians are confident in entering the housing market and taking advantage of the Hodgman Government’s policies that will enable more young people to buy their first home.
Our building and construction targets include:
- A 40 per cent increase in apprentices and trainees in the private sector by 2025
- Triple the number of new affordable houses by 2025
- A 10 per cent increase in housing available for young people at risk by 2025.
See all our targets at: https://www.tas.liberal.org.au/sites/default/files/BuildingYourFuture.pdf
