Strong home demand in outer Australian cities prolongs building boom

Sydney

ON the edges of Sydney, where Australia's biggest city is sprawling across paddocks and market gardens, demand for new homes is running harder than tradesmen can lay bricks.

As home prices have soared in established suburbs - values have doubled in Sydney since 2008 and nearly so in Melbourne - buyers seeking the "Australian dream" of a free-standing home and yard have flocked to the fringes where land is cheaper.