BUILDING approvals in the Mildura municipality increased by 67 per cent over the past year, with government incentives and low interest rates fuelling the boom.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics this week released the building approvals for June, showing 27 new dwellings got the nod during the month in the Mildura LGA.
It took the total approvals for new dwellings to 415, at a value of $132.8 million, for the 2021-21 financial year, well up on the 248 in the previous 12 months.
March (51) and April (54) were the biggest months over the past year for building approvals, with Mildura South and Irymple the development hotspots.
In the Wentworth LGA, housing approvals nearly doubled over the past year.
There were 89 approvals for new dwellings, at a value of $44.3 million, in the 2020-21 financial year, a significant increase on the 47 in the previous 12-month period.
Nationally, the number of dwellings approved fell 6.7 per cent in June for a third consecutive month, following a 7.6 per cent fall in May and a 5 per cent fall in April.
The biggest declines were in Western Australia (-30.5 per cent), Queensland (-18.4 per cent), Tasmania (-14.9 per cent) and New South Wales (-12.7 per cent).
However, dwelling approvals rose in Victoria (12.8 per cent) and South Australia (8.6 per cent), in seasonally adjusted terms.
Master Builders Victoria (MBV) chief executive Rebecca Casson said one of the main reasons for the increase in approvals over the past year was the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder program.
“It delivered a much-needed shot-in-the-arm in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ms Casson said.
“These incentives have generated billions of dollars in economic activity and helped to secure the viability of thousands of businesses and jobs through this pandemic.”
The boost in work for builders was now being tempered by a “critical” shortage of materials, she said.
Builders have reported the waiting times for frame and trusses have blown out from four to 16 weeks, and delays for windows are out to eight weeks when they would normally have them in four weeks.
Other major delays are for mesh and pods (two weeks to six weeks) and bricks are starting to take up to two weeks longer than normal, while the shortage of timber is already significantly impacting businesses and project delivery.
Ms Casson said the price of timber had increased in price by as much as 50 per cent this year, with delays for it expected to worsen.
“It is important to note that while there is a limited amount of timber at present, demand is still not expected to peak for another few months due to unprecedented housing demand in the United States,” the MBV boss said.
