SA Government Is Urged To Invest In Residential Construction Industry

Property pundits are urging the South Australian government to invest in residential construction industry to get it on the road to recovery.

Housing Industry Association (HIA) chief economist Harley Dale spoke at the HIA South Australia industry outlook breakfast in Adelaide on Friday (August 10), outlining the need for change in the sector.

"New home building activity in South Australia is at its worst levels in over a decade, driven by a combination of low household confidence and excessive taxation of the new housing sector," he said.

Mr Dale added that the low activity in the building sector was having flow-on effects on to the state's economy and levels of employment.

The situation could be resolved if the SA government took action and implemented reforms to encourage people to build new homes.

HIA executive director Robert Harding said the state government needed to get involved and help drive a turnaround in the residential construction sector.

He added that strategies to aid the industry could increase confidence amongst homeowners and businesses as well as help to create revenue for the economy.

Mr Harding said reducing the taxes on building houses would also help to encourage people to start building homes again.