$218 million spent on new homes in Warrnambool in 2020

Master Builders Victoria has revealed there were 300 new homes approved for the city and 74 approvals for other residential building.

This is compared to an average of 180 new houses each year.

The data shows $108 million was spent on new homes in 2021, while there was $25 million and $18 million spent on other residential buildings and renovations, respectively.

Master Builders Victoria has revealed the number of new residential building approvals across the state has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Casson said Victoria passed 70,463 new residential building approvals in the 12 months to November 2021 - the highest level for three years.

"Our state has not seen yearly residential building approval totals exceed 70,000 since 2018," Ms Casson said.

She said Victoria's building and construction industry continues to play a large part in supporting our state's population and economy.

"It is evident that the building and construction industry is important to the overall health of the Victorian and national economy," Ms Gasson said.

"Recent GDP data indicated that during the September 2021 quarter, Australia's economy shrank by 1.9 per cent, reflecting the effects of lockdowns in Victoria and NSW.

"However, residential building has been one of the strongest parts of the economy and expanded by 11.4 per cent over the last year.

"This demonstrates high levels of confidence and demand from the private sector as Victorians began to emerge out of lockdowns and into some form of normality."

Earlier this year Warrnambool builder Steve Giblin said he had been inundated with inquiries about people wanting to build a new house in the city.

"The future looks just as strong," he said.

"The next couple of years are going to be unbelievable."

Mr Giblin, who started his business three decades ago, said he had not seen such a high demand for housing in Warrnambool since the late 90s.

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