New home building slumped in the June quarter, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The latest figures show that total home starts fell 11.8% to 40,720, in seasonally adjusted terms.
Work started on new houses fell 6.6% to 25,162, while apartment building fell by 19.6% to 14,529 dwellings.
Dwellings currently under construction dropped by 1.4% to 237,779 dwellings in the June quarter. Completions fared no better, with the total number of homes completed fell 7.5% to 41,669 dwellings in the June quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms.
Again, apartments drove the decline, falling 20.1% to 13,379 homes to be just 0.3% higher for the year. Work finished on new houses fell 1.6% to 27,213, following a rise of 3.9% in the March quarter. Work completed in this sector is down 3.1% for the year.
The value of new residential building work done increased by 1.2% to $15.9b in the June quarter, following a decrease of 0.4% in the March quarter. Work completed on alterations and additions to residential buildings fell 5.0% to $2.6b.
