Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Building Approvals show that the number of dwellings approved fell 0.4 per cent in April 2015, in trend terms, after rising for ten months. Whilst the number of houses approved rose, we still see a hike in the volume of high-rise developments.
Dwelling approvals decreased in April in the Northern Territory (6.2 per cent), South Australia (2.3 per cent), Victoria (0.8 per cent), Queensland (0.8 per cent) and Western Australia (0.6 per cent) but increased in the Australian Capital Territory (8.4 per cent), Tasmania (4.3 per cent) and New South Wales (0.1 per cent) in trend terms.
In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses rose 1.1 per cent in April. Private sector house approvals rose in New South Wales (2.8 per cent), South Australia (2.0 per cent), Victoria (0.8 per cent) and Western Australia (0.8 per cent) but fell in Queensland (0.5 per cent). This was the largest rise since 2010.
However, we continue to see a steady rise in the relative proportion of high-rise dwelling approvals.
The value of total building approved fell 1.0 per cent in April, in trend terms, and has fallen for two months. The value of residential building fell 0.1 per cent while non-residential building fell 3.3 per cent in trend terms.
