Demand for new homes is on the increase with a surge in people searching for new developments online.

A report into searches on realestate.com.au shows a 9% increase in potential buyers looking for new builds compared to the same time last year. Inquiries, that is potential buyers contacting sellers about the properties, also lifted by almost a third.

Senior data analyst Karen Dellow says with a lack of listings of existing properties property searchers were looking toward the new home market. “The number of new development listings on realestate.com.au has increased by 6.64% from last year. However, building approvals for new developments remain sluggish and insufficient to meet the population’s growing needs,” she says.

April 2024 Building Approvals data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show a drop of 0.3% in dwellings approved following a 2.7% increase in March. The report shows that the most searched locations for new apartment developments are in inner Melbourne and the Gold Coast. Canberra had the most inquiries per listing for all types of properties in May, which was followed by the Richmond-Tweed region.