Home renovating down

The value of capital city home renovations declined over the September quarter according to the latest building approval data from the ABS.  Residential renovations to the value of $1.42 billion were reported over the quarter which was a fall of 4.3 percent compared to that recorded over the previous June quarter.

The value of home renovating over the first nine months of 2016 has however increased by 1.1 percent for a rise of $46.1m compared to the same period last year.

Melbourne continues to lead the capitals recording $501.2m in renovation activity over the September quarter for a national capital city market share of 35.4 percent. So far this year the value of home renovation in Melbourne has increased by 5.4 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

Sydney has also recorded an increase in home renovations over the past year – up by 3.2 percent to $1.4b over the first nine months of this year for an overall market share of 33.3 percent.

Although national renovation activity declined over the September quarter, home improvement remains a significant force in capital city housing markets.  Inner city locations are clearly favoured for renovation reflecting rising property values, strong connections to local neighbourhoods, the higher costs of relocation and a growing culture of do-it-yourself home renovating.

Home renovations provide significant benefits to local economies and act as positive force for urban renewal and the conservation of infrastructure resources.

Lower interest rates also stimulate home renovations providing reduced borrowing costs and enabling home-owners to access property equity.

Dr Andrew Wilson is Domain Group Chief Economist Twitter@DocAndrewWilson join on LinkedIn