The nation’s residential construction sector has stagnated, with the recent GDP figures showing now growth in the industry in the March 2013 quarter, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA).

“GDP grew by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2013, reaching a level 2.5 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter of 2012,” said HIA Economist, Geordan Murray. “This is clearly a soft aggregate result (and softer than widely expected), but it is especially concerning that the weakness is evident across so many key areas of the economy.”

“In seasonally adjusted terms, the volume of investment in new homes increased by 2.2 per cent over the quarter, as the modest recovery from very weak levels in the first half of 2012 continued. Meanwhile, the on-going decline in alerations and additions investment provides a weak update on the mindset and appetite for spending on the part of the household sector.”