Sydney housing construction soars to highest in 10 years

Tradies in the Sydney area have good reason to celebrate. The latest figures from the Department of Planning and Infrastructure show the number of new home builds in Sydney is currently sitting at its highest in a decade.

The data show the number of new home construction projects has jumped by 35 per cent in the past year alone, with building companies putting up 21,097 homes in Sydney in the 2012-2013 financial year. All this suggests demand for construction machinery, such as diggers and excavators, will be on the rise as well.

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell stated that this is a good sign that the current policies are having their intended effect, considering the growth is the highest since the 2003/2004 fiscal year.

"I committed to ensure buying a new home for young families wasn't a fading dream – and driving housing construction up is a key to delivering improved housing affordability," Mr O'Farrell said in an official release.

"Since being elected, we've taken action to release more land, put in place the nation's most generous first new homebuyer scheme and axed the $429 million homebuyer tax."

This growth isn't expected to slow anytime soon. The report also showed that housing approvals are up, rising 17 per cent compared to last fiscal year to 28,557.