A more than 16 percent drop in building approvals for unit complexes drove an overall decrease in the number of dwellings approved in August, reversing recent increases.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows the total number of apartments and houses approved in Australia fell 6.1 percent in August, to 13,991, after an 11 percent rise in July.
ABS Head of Construction Statistics Daniel Rossi said the result was driven by a 16.5 percent fall in approvals for private dwellings, excluding houses.
“The movements in dwellings excluding houses continue to be the result of volatility in apartment approvals, with the broad environment around apartments remaining subdued,” Mr Rossi said.
He said private sector house approvals rose 0.5 percent, to 9338 dwellings, to be 8.4 percent higher than August last year.
“New South Wales recorded the largest rise of all the states, at 3.9 percent.
“Western Australia continued to track higher, approving its highest number of private houses since June 2021.”
Mr Rossi said the drop in private sector dwellings, excluding houses, to 4418 dwellings, was 6.1 percent lower than one year ago.
“The August result was driven by a decrease in approvals for high-density apartments,” he said.
“There were 1214 apartments approved in nine or more storey blocks in August, in original terms, compared to 2504 in July.”
Mr Rossi said the value of total building approved fell 0.2 percent, to $13.25 billion, following a 6.9 percent rise in July.
