The number of dwellings approved rose 0.5 per cent in January, in trend terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
The data is weaker than many was expecting, but we suspect that’s a direct impact of slowing of high-rise approvals, especially in Victoria, and perhaps the bushfires. The one-offs we saw at the end of last year, were exactly that.
ABS Director of Construction Statistics, Daniel Rossi, said: “The rise was driven by private sector houses, which rose 0.8 per cent, in trend terms.
“Meanwhile, private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 0.1 per cent. A significant fall in the number of apartments approved in January has offset the strength recorded in late 2019.”
Across the states and territories, dwelling approvals rose in Australian Capital Territory (7.3 per cent), Victoria (2.8 per cent) and Northern Territory (2.7 per cent). Falls were recorded in Tasmania (3.7 per cent), South Australia (3.4 per cent), Western Australia (2.0 per cent), New South Wales (0.8 per cent) and Queensland (0.7 per cent), in trend terms.
Approvals for private sector houses increased in Victoria (2.6 per cent), Western Australia (2.0 per cent), Queensland (0.6 per cent) and South Australia (0.4 per cent). Private house approvals in New South Wales fell 2.1 per cent, in trend terms.
The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved fell 15.3 per cent in January, driven by a 35.5 per cent decrease in private dwellings excluding houses. This was largely due to weakness in approvals for apartments (which is volatile from month-to-month), especially in Victoria.
The value of total building approved rose 0.3 per cent in January, in trend terms, after falling for six months. The value of residential building rose 0.1 per cent, while non-residential building increased 0.4 per cent.
