New Home Sales increased fractionally 0.6 per cent in February, following a 2.5 per cent gain in January.
Victoria the shining star leads the way in home sales.
Victoria lead the way in sales, up 3% with around a third of total home sales in Australia, and cheap land.
Queensland hew home sales bring up the rear.
Queensland had a disastrous month with a 16% drop in sales of detached new homes, and things look like won't get better ant time soon. Queensland suffered the most from extreme weather events and a bad number was expected. It also has expensive land and home buyers are staying away.
The current sales figures would suggest that 2011 will be a worse year than 2010.
Compared to a year earlier, total sales over the three months to February 2011 were down 10 per cent, so we expect the trend to show through the rest of the year.New Government policy required to lower land costs
Interest rates are touted to rise in the coming period, and the stalled Labor initiative on land pricing needs to produce a result for the industry.
New home sales were also down in South Australia and Western Australia.
The cost of land lots has to be addressed in Queensland and NSW in particular, as many feel that the land costs are over $100,000 more than they should be.
