Victoria's building industry remains buoyant with three billion-dollar months in the September quarter delivering $3.8 billion of building activity, according to figures just released by the Victorian government.
Planning Minister Mary Delahunty says September quarter results indicate continuing high levels of building activity across the State, despite a 5% easing in activity compared with the September 2002 quarter.
“We anticipated an easing in building activity this quarter, but a dip of just 5% indicates that the industry remains resilient,” Delahunty said.
Rural Victoria performed strongly in the quarter, with building activity up 18% to $876 million compared with the September 2002 quarter. Inner Melbourne decreased 19% to $1.5 billion and outer Melbourne grew 1% to $1.4 billion.
Growth in building activity for the quarter was evident in all rural regions with:
• The South West region up 22% to $262 million;
• The North West region jumping 15% to $148 million;
• The North Central region increasing 16% to $168 million;
• The North East region rising 10%to $138 million; and
• The Gippsland region growing 24% to $161 million.
Although new building projects continued to contribute to the strong building growth, domestic extensions and alterations was valued at $423 million of building permit activity over the September quarter in Victoria. The three municipalities with the greatest level of extensions and alterations activity in the quarter were:
• City of Boroondara up 29% to $35.5 million;
• City of Bayside growing 30% to $22.1 million; and
• Mornington Shire increasing 24% to $22.1 million.
The average value of extensions and alterations varied significantly throughout Victoria, with extensions and alterations on average worth $24,000 in Rural Victoria, $27,000 in Outer Melbourne, and $63,000 in Inner Melbourne.
Building activity for the month of September was strong, reaching $1.3 billion, an increase of 6% compared to September last year.
Domestic activity remains a solid performer; while the retail and hospital/health-care sectors showed substantial growth in September, up 123% and 43% respectively.
The level of building permit activity for September, 2003, compared to September 2002 indicates:
• Domestic increased by 15% to $763 million;
• Residential dropped 37% to $138 million;
• Commercial up 10% to $140 million;
• Retail surged 123% to $125 million;
• Industrial decreased 37% to $32 million;
• Hospital/Health-care jumped 43% to $39 million; and
• Public buildings decreased 22% to $65 million.
Melbourne’s CBD and inner suburbs contributed to nine of the top ten building permits by value. These included:
• A retail and residential development at Docklands worth $56 million;
• Two separate developments in Flinders St, Melbourne including an apartment and
commercial complex worth $39 million and an additional commercial project valued at $41 million;
• A large health-care facility in Parkville valued at $19 million; and
• A new car park in Exhibition St, Melbourne worth $14 million.
Building Commissioner, Tony Arnel, said that the quarterly and monthly figures show strength in all sectors of building activity and in most regions.
“There is continuing confidence in the Victorian building industry with a range of projects across all sectors. Importantly, domestic sector building activity remains strong in both metropolitan and regional areas. While it appears that building activity has peaked, overall levels of activity remain strong, and the future is positive for Victoria’s building industry,” he says.
