A large fall in building approvals to build new apartments drove the national total down in July, according to the data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The total number of dwellings approved fell 17.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms in July, following a 0.6 per cent decrease in June.
The fall was led by a sharp decline in approvals for multi units, which dropped by 43.5 per cent.
Daniel Rossi, head of construction statistics at the ABS, said that this was the lowest level recorded since January 2012 and was driven by a lack of approvals for large apartment developments.
"Approvals for houses remained steady, rising 0.7 per cent in June, following a 1.6 per cent increase in June", Rossi added.
Western Australia had the largest drop in the number of approvals (down 36.9 per cent), followed by Victoria (17.4 per cent), New South Wales (16.2 per cent), Tasmania (14.5 per cent) and Queensland (13.7 per cent). South Australia was the only state to record a rise, of 19.2 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.
Only two states recorded a decline in approvals for standalone houses, Western Australia (down 8.7 per cent) and New South Wales (6.3 per cent). In contrast, approvals rose in South Australia (up by 18.6 per cent), Queensland (5.8 per cent) and Victoria (1.5 per cent).
The value of total residential building approved fell 6.1 per cent in July, comprising a 6.9 per cent decline in new residential building and a 1.3 per cent decrease in alterations and additions.