Building approvals continued to fluctuate in January, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The figures show that the total number of dwellings approved fell 2.4 per cent in January 2013, in seasonally adjusted terms. This is the second fall in two months.
Approvals to build private sector houses rose 3.2 per cent in January after three months of falls, while approvals for dwellings ‘other than houses’ fell 9.1 per cent after rising for two months.
Total dwelling approvals decreased in January in Queensland (down by 5.8 per cent), South Australia (down 3.2 per cent), Victoria (2.6 per cent) and New South Wales (1.3 per cent) but increased in Tasmania (13.9 per cent) and Western Australia (3.1 per cent) in seasonally adjusted terms.
Approvals to build private sector houses rose 3.2 per cent in January. Approvals rose in Western Australia (7.4 per cent), Queensland (4.2 per cent) and Victoria (3.6 per cent), but fell in South Australia (down by 8.4 per cent) and New South Wales (down 0.9 per cent).
The value of residential building approved fell 1.7 per cent in January, in seasonally adjusted terms.