Finance department calls Government's housing commencement figures ‘volatile’ and uncertain

The Department of Finance has warned that the more than 60,000 commencement notices lodged last year may not be an accurate measure of actual house building.

The Department of Finance has said it doesn't know how the Government’s much-touted figures on housing commencements will translate into real homes for people in the short to medium term.

In its monthly update on housing, the department has cast doubt on the use of "commencement figures" as an accurate forecast for how many homes will be built in the coming years.