HIA has released its December 2017 edition of the HIA Renovations Roundup report, which is a regular review of Australia’s $33bn home renovations market. The report also includes the results of a survey of 595 renovations firms from around the country.

“Low wage growth and fewer home sales resulted in a slowing in renovations activity in 2017. The near term outlook for home renovations demand is being held back by sluggish wages growth. Because renovations activity is often initiated by the new owners of older homes, the dip in established house turnover over the past 12 months has not accelerated renovations activity this year,” says HIA senior economist Shane Garrett.

HIA predicts renovations activity will suffer a 3.1% decline during 2018 but that there will be a 32.% recovering in 2019. In 2020, the pace of expansion is set to accelerate to 5.7%

“During 2017, home renovations work contracted by 3.1%. A further decline of similar magnitude is projected for 2018. The medium term holds better prospects for renovations activity. Interest rates are set to remain lower for longer than previously expected. The ageing of Australia’s dwelling stock will also work in favour of renovations demand – the number of houses in the key renovations age bracket of 30-35 years is going to rise substantially until the early part of the 2020s decade,” says Shane.

“Even though current conditions in the renovations market are marking time, the HIA renovations market survey suggests that 40% of firms still intend to take on extra employees over the next 12 months.”