Australians are shunning detached homes, as construction of new apartments drives growth in the housing sector.
A survey of Australia's largest volume house builders shows new home sales increased for the second consecutive month in November, as apartment construction hit its highest level in over a decade.
The Housing Industry Association's new home sales report showed sales of new homes increased by 2.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted in November, following a 3 per cent rise in October.
The figures were boosted by sales of multi-units, which surged in both October and November to reach their highest level since September 2003.
The surge in apartments in contrasted by the fall in detached house sales, which dipped by 1.5 per cent in the month.
While the upward trend for apartments is set to continue, HIA chief economist Harley Dale, said, detached houses were not displaying the upward punch of their multi-unit counterpart.
"Renewed upward momentum in the multi-unit segment drove growth in overall new home sales in late 2014, a trend unlikely to be reversed when the December result comes through," he said.
While upward momentum was evident in both detached house and multi-unit construction in 2013 and 2014, momentum has recently been concentrated in apartments.
As the trend is set to persist into 2015, Mr Dale said a focus on housing policy reform would greatly assist in rebalancing the table.
"Providing a further burst of growth in detached house construction... would at the same time provide productivity gains for the broader Australian economy. That should be a policy no-brainer," Mr Dale, said.
Queensland led the country in sales of detached homes, seeing a 16 per cent rise in November, while in Western Australia sales dropped 10.6 per cent and fell 5.6 per cent in NSW.