Approvals to build new apartments tumbled in December, cancelling out the rise from the previous month, new figures show.
Data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that the total number of dwellings approved fell 14.9 per cent in December to 15,542, seasonally adjusted.
The fall was driven by a 29.8 per cent drop in approvals for multi-unit homes, following a 29.6 per cent rise in this series in November.
House approvals rose 0.4 per cent to 9,487 dwellings, after a 0.8 per cent rise in November. This figure is 5.7 per cent higher than one year ago.
ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi noted that South Australia recorded the largest rise, up 13.1 per cent, to the highest level since April 2023.
“Western Australia rose 0.4 per cent, to the highest level since July 2021”, Rossi said, adding that ‘in contrast, New South Wales had the largest fall in December, down 5.5 per cent.’
Approvals to build multi-unit homes fell 29.8 per cent to 5,855 in December, after a 29.6 per cent rise in November.
'While the fall in December was large, it came off the back of last month which had the highest number of private sector dwellings excluding houses approved since June 2018”, Rossi said.
In original terms, the volatile apartment series fell 37.6 per cent to 3,470 dwellings, after a 63.7 per cent rise in November. This is 14.0 per cent lower than the average over the past twelve months.
“Victoria led the fall in apartment approvals in December”, Rossi said, adding that the state saw only 339 apartments approved this month compared with 1,496 in November.
The value of total residential building approved fell 16 per cent (to $9.49 billion) in December, following a record high last month. The result comprised a 17.8 per cent fall in new residential building (to $8.30 billion) and a 1.4 per cent drop in alterations and additions (to $1.20 billion).