Australian homeowners are taking up renovations in record numbers, according to new data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The latest figures show that approvals for renovations reached an all-time high in June, with a rise of more than 10% over the month.
The total number of building approvals, however, fell 6.5% in June to 13,237, after a 5.7% rise in May.
ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi noted that over the past 12 months, there have been a total of 162,892 approvals, compared with 177,936 in the 12 months prior.
“This represents a 8.5% decrease, in original terms, and is the lowest number of dwellings approved on a financial year basis since 2011/12.”, Rossi said.
Approvals to build new houses fell by 0.5% in June, driven mainly by New South Wales which fell 19%.
“With the latest figure of 1,597 private houses approved, this is the lowest recorded figure for New South Wales since January 2013″, Rossi said.
Material and labour shortages continue to impact the housing sector, with the average approval value for new houses rising by $19,444 between June 2023 and June 2024.
Approvals to build multi-unit dwellings fell by one-fifth (19.7%) in June, reaching the second lowest monthly level recorded since January 2012.
“The June figure represents a yearly fall of 22.1 per cent compared to the same month last year”, Rossi observed, adding that conditions for apartments remain challenging owing to high construction costs and higher interest rates.
Just 29,388 apartment units were approved in the 12 months to June 2024, compared with 40,443 in the previous 12 months.
The total value of residential building fell by 0.6% to $7.61 billion in June, following a 2.7% rise in May. The value of new home building fell 2.3% (to $6.44 billion).
Meanwhile, the level of residential alterations and additions reached an all-time high of $1.17 billion in June, rising 10.2% in seasonally adjusted terms.
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