Apartments lift approvals

Approvals to build new multi-unit homes rebounded in July, according to seasonally adjusted data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

The figures show that the total number of dwellings approved rose 10.4 per cent in July to 14,797, after a 6.4 per cent drop in June.

ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi remarked that ‘dwellings excluding houses’ rose 32.1 per cent after a low June result.

“Private sector house approvals also rose by 0.6 per cent”, Rossi said.

“Despite the bounce in July, total dwellings approved remain 5.1 per cent lower than the five year average."

House approvals rose 0.6 per cent (to 9,252 dwellings), driven by an 8.5 per cent rise in New South Wales in July.

Across the other states, results were mixed. Queensland and Victoria fell after rising in June, while South Australia and Western Australia continued to track upwards. House approvals in Western Australia reached the highest level since July 2021, in seasonally adjusted terms.

Approvals to build multi-unit homes rose 32.1 per cent (to 5,234 dwellings), to be 15.9 per cent higher than one year ago. The bounce followed a low June result of 3,963 dwellings approved.

The result in July was driven by an increase in approvals for high-density apartments. There were 2,504 apartments approved in nine or more storey blocks in July, in original terms, compared to 533 in June.

Total residential building rose 9.0 per cent (to $8.49 billion) in June. The primary driver of the rise was in the value of new residential building approved, which rose 11.8 per cent (to $7.38 billion). Alterations and additions fell 6.8 per cent (to $1.11 billion), following an all-time high of $1.19 billion in June, in seasonally adjusted terms.