June 13, 2013
Housing sales have stalled in the South Burnett region according to statistics released this week by real estate valuers RP Data.
The South Burnett is listed among the 20 council areas across Australia where dwelling sales have been the lowest over the past year, compared with a five-year average.
According to RP Data, there were 350 sales in the South Burnett in the year to March 2013.
This compared with a five-year average of 597 and a 10-year average of 761.
The South Burnett was the fourth worst across Australia in comparison with the five-year average (down 41. 4 per cent).
Only the mining regions of Port Hedland (-43.6 per cent), Isaac (-45.0 per cent) and Roebourne (-45.4 per cent) were worse off.
“The slowdown in these mining regions shouldn’t come as a surprise considering weaker commodity prices and a slowing of infrastructure projects associated with the mining sector,” RP Data’s national research director Tim Lawless said.
The difference between sales in the past 12 months in the South Burnett and the 10-year average (down 54 per cent) was the second worst recorded by RP Data, with only Roebourne in Western Australia recording a greater drop off (down 57.6 per cent).
Mr Lawless said sales were improving in volume in some regions of Australia.
For the year to March 2013, there were an estimated 400,209 house and unit sales nationally, 2.3 per cent more than over the same period a year ago. However, sales were still down 8.8 per cent compared with the five-year average.
