NSW jumps ahead in housing construction figures

NEW South Wales has surged ahead in a biannual assessment of the state of housing in each state and territory in Australia.

NEW South Wales has surged ahead in a biannual assessment of the state of housing in each state and territory in Australia.

The Housing Industry Association scorecard showed NSW jumped from fifth on the league table to second only to West Australia in the past six months.

While WA remained on top, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania were the weakest jurisdictions for residential building activity.

The scorecard reports on several key indicators of building activity to assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of each state's industry.

HIA chief economist Harley Dale said there was daylight between the pack leaders, NSW and WA, and the rest of the country.

"Amongst the other states, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and the Northern Territory are clustered closely together in the middle of the pack," he said.

South Australia and Queensland are still just off the pace, but there were some improvements in both those states."

Mr Dale said the recovery in NSW was largely attributed to a surge of activity in the multi-unit sector, but the home market remained among the strongest in Australia.

Originally published as NSW jumps ahead in housing construction figures