BY SARAH JAMES
Building approvals in the Hunter are continuing to increase, with Maitland, Cessnock, and Singleton now making up more than one-third of all home approvals in the past year.
Previously, these areas only accounted for 25%.
Infrastructure such as the Hunter Expressway and affordability of these areas are believed to be some of the factors attracting new home buyers to the region.
HIA Executive Director for the Hunter, Craig Jennion, says this boom has been a great support for the construction industry and associated industries.
"The Hunter region has been performing at elevated levels for a number of years now. Pleasingly what the latest data shows is that the highest performing councils in the last few months have been on the fringe, so they are really starting to step up proportionally to their size," he said.
