new home sales fell further in march

New home sales fell further in March

April 30, 2008 12:59pm

* Sales of new homes down 6pc in March
* In-depth: The latest interest rate news and features
* More personal finance news in our Money section

NEW home sales fell for the second straight month in March as high interest rates and the costs of construction hit hard, a survey shows.

Sales of new homes and units fell 6 per cent in March, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) said today.

New home sales are at their lowest level since August last year.

Detached house sales dropped by 6.3 per cent in March, while multi-unit sales were 3.5 per cent lower.

HIA chief economist Harley Dale said improvement in the housing industry would come in 2009 or 2010 at the earliest.

"Sales volumes are clearly losing momentum against the headwinds of higher interest rates and upward pressure on construction costs,'' Mr Dale said.

NSW recorded the largest fall, with detached house sales down 19.7 per cent in March.

Queensland was the other state to record a double-digit drop at 10 per cent.

Western Australia rebounded from a large fall in February, posting a 4 per cent increase.

The HIA surveys 100 of Australia's largest residential builders for its monthly report.