A large fall in building approvals to build new apartments drove the national total down in July, according to the data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The total number of dwellings approved fell 17.2% in seasonally adjusted terms in July, following a 0.6% decrease in June.
The fall was led by a sharp decline in approvals for multi-units, which dropped by 43.5%.
Daniel Rossi, head of construction statistics at the ABS, said that this was the lowest level recorded since January 2012 and was driven by a lack of approvals for large apartment developments.
“Approvals for houses remained steady, rising 0.7% in June, following a 1.6% increase in June”, Rossi added.
Western Australia had the largest drop in the number of approvals (down 36.9%), followed by Victoria (17.4%), New South Wales (16.2%), Tasmania (14.5%) and Queensland (13.7%). South Australia was the only state to record a rise, of 19.2% in seasonally adjusted terms.
Only two states recorded a decline in approvals for standalone houses, Western Australia (down 8.7%) and New South Wales (6.3%). In contrast, approvals rose in South Australia (up by 18.6%), Queensland (5.8%) and Victoria (1.5%).
The value of total residential buildings approved fell 6.1% in July, comprising a 6.9% decline in new residential buildings and a 1.3% decrease in alterations and additions.
