'Momentum Needed' To Fuel Property Recovery

When it comes to sustained recovery in Australia's property construction sectors, sustained momentum will be needed.

This is the opinion of Peter Jones, chief economist at Master Builders Australia, who asserted that the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures about improved dwelling approvals for February 2013 may be misleading.

Commenting on April 4, he noted that the total seasonally-adjusted increase of 3.1 per cent for February 2013 may not reflect a true picture of the market, as non-house (other) dwellings only increased by 1.5 per cent, and private sector housing rose 0.5 per cent.

Mr Jones said that the figures were "buoyed by an an unusually high public sector housing figure", which could be concealing the true picture.

The key to achieving sustained recovery, he suggested, lies in the ability to build and maintain momentum.

"The industry had been hoping for a much stronger recovery to take hold and the feedback from builders is that conditions are still very tough," said Mr Jones.

However, Geordan Murray, economist at the Housing Industry Association, said a strong February could be evidence that anecdotal improvements in consumer sentiment are translating into a boost in property construction.