Dwelling approvals have fallen to the lowest level in more than a decade despite the ongoing housing supply crisis.
At the same time, renovation spending hit an all-time high in June at well over $1 billion.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, released today, show approvals fell 8.5 percent, from 177,936 to 162,892 over the past 12 months.
This was the lowest number (non-seasonally adjusted) of dwellings approved in a single year since 2011-12.
In the month of June, seasonally adjusted approvals fell 6.5 percent, countering the 5.7 percent rise recorded in May.
ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi said private sector house approvals fell by 0.5 percent in June, pulled down by a 19 percent drop in NSW.
“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,” Mr Rossi said.
“Private sector dwellings excluding houses fell by 19.7 percent in June, reaching the second lowest monthly level recorded since January 2012.
“The June figure represents a yearly fall of 22.1 percent compared to the same month last year. Conditions for apartments remain challenging owing to high construction costs and higher interest rates.”
In original terms, there was 29,388 apartment units approved in the 2023-24 financial year compared with 40,443 in the previous 12 months.
Total residential building value fell by 0.6 percent to $7.61 billion, following a 2.7 percent rise in May. The value of new residential building fell 2.3 percent (to $6.44 billion).
At the same time home renovation remained strong with record spending of $1.17 billion in June, rising 10.2 percent in seasonally adjusted terms.
The full report is on the ABS website.
