While residential construction is declining across the nation, Western Australia's new home building sector has bucked the trend with a 1.5 per cent rise over the December quarter.
The rest of Australia experienced a 4.6 per cent fall in the December quarter, following a 3.7 per cent fall in December, ABS figures said.
A total of 5,449 new dwellings were commenced in the quarter, compared to September's total of 5,367.
New dwelling construction had declined for the past three quarters in Western Australia.
"While this figure is not quite something to pop open the champagne about, it's nevertheless an encouraging turn-around for a home building sector which has been declining for many months," Urban Development Institute of Australia WA chief executive Debra Goostrey said.
"It reflects the overall strength of the West Australian economy and shows that confidence is starting to return to the housing market.
"That's welcome news for the state's home builders who will be looking forward to further improvement in the market."
