Building approvals have tipped down again, thanks to the ever-volatile apartment sector, official figures show.
Data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the seasonally adjusted number of dwellings approved fell 12.9% in October, following a 3.9% fall in September.
This result still remains 34.3% higher than the pre-pandemic level in October 2019, however.
The decline was driven by a large fall in approvals for apartments or multi-unit dwellings, which fell 37.5%.
Private sector houses stabilised, up 4.3% in October, following a 14.8% fall in September.
Across Australia, approvals fell in New South Wales (down 29.4%), South Australia (8.1%), Western Australia (2.7%), Victoria (2.0%) and Tasmania (1.8%). Queensland rose 2.2%, in seasonally adjusted terms.
The fall in approvals for New South Wales was driven by a large decline in apartment developments approved in October.
The value of total residential building fell 11.4%, comprising a 13.5% decrease in new residential building, and a 2.6% rise in alterations and additions.
