Business News
Tim Lawless says Western Australia is “dragging the chain” on apartment builds compared with other states, but signs are pointing to a recovery.
Speaking at an Urban Development Institute of Australia WA event today, the Cotality head of research commented on the state’s preference for single storey houses.
“There’s a real skew towards detached housing,” he said.
“When you look at commencements, only about 17 per cent of Western Australian housing commencements are in the high density sector.
“That’s the lowest of any state … it might be a little bit higher than Tasmania, but even somewhere like South Australia is seeing about 25 per cent of the commencements are in the medium to high density sector.
“In Queensland, it’s … about 35 per cent, in New South Wales, it’s about 55 per cent of housing commencements are in the medium to the high density sector.
“So definitely, WA is still dragging the chain on densification.”