Approvals to build new apartments rebounded in August, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The figures show that approvals for ‘dwellings excluding houses’ rose 99.1% in August, with a sharp bounce back in apartment approvals driving the result.
Approvals for private sector houses rose 4.1% in August, following a 0.8% increase in July.
The total number of dwellings approved rose 28.1 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms in August, following an 18.2% decrease in July which included the lowest number of ‘other residential’ homes approved since January 2012.
Across Australia, the number of dwelling approvals rose in all states, in seasonally adjusted terms. Approvals rose in New South Wales (up 70.6%), Victoria (19.4%), Western Australia (13.6%), Queensland (9.5%), Tasmania (3.9%) and South Australia (3.5%).
The result for standalone houses varied across the states. Approvals rose in New South Wales (12.7%), Western Australia (8.9%), and Victoria (1.2%), but fell 4.5% in South Australia and just 0.1% in Queensland.
The value of total residential building rose 28.5% in August, comprising a 32.6% increase in new work and a 5.4% increase in alterations and additions.
