A population boom leading to a building approvals register worth more than $100 million has kept Thornton and Millers Forest as some of Australia's fastest growing suburban areas.
Of the nine building hotspots identified in the most recent Housing Industry Association report, five were located in the Hunter Valley, three were in Newcastle and one was on the Central Coast, HIA said in a statement released late last week.
"Thornton-Millers Forest, is once again the HIA Hunter regions number one building hot spot with a population growth rate of 6.6 per cent and $119.5 million in building approvals," HIA Hunter boss Craig Jennion said.
"Second on the list, Branxton-Greta-Pokolbin, had a population growth rate of 5.6 per cent and $145.7 million in building approvals.
"Up one place from last year, Kurri Kurri-Abermain was ranked third with a population growth rate of 3.5% and $71.2 million in building approvals."
The building association said a hot spot was classed as a suburban area where at least $50 million orth of residential building work was approved during the 2021/22 financial year, and its rate of population growth is faster than the 1.2 per cent national average.
"The report found that Australia's population growth improved after being constrained in previous years due to closed borders, whilst the value of building works approved and the growth rates of the local population has been very high locally," Mr Jennion said.
"COVID-19 has also seen consumer preferences shift away from inner-city apartment style living to detached housing in regional areas."
