West Australia's construction sector is on the rise

The second quarter of 2013 has seen WA housing statistics record their strongest performance in three years, according to newly released Australian Bureau of Statistics building activity figures.

Australia's residential building industry voice, the Housing Industry Association, says the figures show the number of new home starts reached 6,500 in WA in the three months leading up to June. That's the highest quarterly result since mid-2010, and a 56.3 per cent increase on statistics from twelve months ago.

Overall, the data shows that WA's residential construction market is gaining momentum, with a 51.7 per cent growth in detached house commencements and a 53.4 per cent hike in multi-unit starts.

John Gelavis, HIA's acting executive director, noted that the figures were encouraging for the WA housing industry. He also stated the changes made to the First Home Owners' Grant in the WA State Budget would steer demand toward new homes in the state.

The ABS figures also showed a 35 per cent increase in house commencements in the 2012/2013 financial year compared with 2011/2012 results.

Mr Gelavis is optimistic that the results are a sign WA is moving to address the deficit in its housing stock.