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New home approvals hit fresh decade low as surging costs stifle new builds

Building approvals have sunk to their lowest level in more than a decade, as the soaring cost for materials, land, finance and labour stifle the construction of new homes. In the year to November, just 166,127 new dwellings were approved for construction, according to new seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. Not since the year to June 2013, when 165,327 new dwellings were approved, has the annualised number of new homes signed-off for construction been so low. The fresh figures come as the nation faces the worst housing crunch in decades, as a rebound in house prices risks…

New home approvals hit fresh decade low as surging costs stifle new builds

Building approvals have sunk to their lowest level in more than a decade, as the soaring cost for materials, land, finance and labour stifle the construction of new homes. In the year to November, just 166,127 new dwellings were approved for construction, according to new seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. Not since the year to June 2013, when 165,327 new dwellings were approved, has the annualised number of new homes signed-off for construction been so low. The fresh figures come as the nation faces the worst housing crunch in decades, as a rebound in house prices risks…

Alcoa’s Kwinana Alumina Refinery to be shutdown, 750 of 800 jobs to be cut,…

A major West Australian refinery employing hundreds of people will be shut down, with its workforce to be reduced by almost 94 per cent to 50 people. US mining giant Alcoa Corporation on Tuesday announced it would fully curtail production in 2024 at its Kwinana Alumina Refinery south of Perth, with the process beginning in the second quarter. The company has operated in WA for about 60 years. 550 of the 800 jobs at the refinery would be cut by the third quarter of this year when all alumina production will cease. But certain processes will continue until about the third quarter of 2025 – further reducing employee numbers to about…

Mortgage demand down 9.4% for final week of 2023, despite recent drop in…

A “For Sale” sign sits in front of a new home May 27, 2004 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Mortgage demand ended 2023 on a sour note, despite a sharp drop in mortgage interest rates during December. Total application volume was down 9.4% for the week ended Dec. 29, compared with two weeks earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. The MBA was closed last week, and the results include adjustments for the holidays. The average rate on the 30-year fixed ended the year at 6.76%, lower than where it was two weeks ago, but higher than it was a week ago. That, however, is still well…

Top Goldman Sachs analyst says the world is moving into a new super cycle

The global economy is moving into a new “super cycle”, with artificial intelligence and decarbonisation being driving factors, according to Peter Oppenheimer, head of macro research in Europe at Goldman Sachs. “We are moving clearly into a different super cycle,” he told CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe on Monday. Super cycles are commonly defined as lengthy periods of economic expansion, often accompanied by growing GDP, strong demand for goods leading to higher prices and high levels of employment. The most recent significant super cycle that the world economy experienced began in the early 1980s, Oppenheimer said, discussing content…