The ABS released the Building Approvals data to March 2015. In trend terms, the number of approvals was 19,333, up 1.8% on last month, and 18.2% from last year. The count has risen for 10 months. The trend estimate for private sector houses approved rose 0.2% in March and has risen for four months. The trend estimate for private sector dwellings excluding houses rose 3.6% in March and has risen for 10 months.
The value of residential building rose 2.5% and has risen for 12 months. The value of non-residential building fell 2.8% and has fallen for four months. As the resource sector packs up its building tools, some are being applied to the residential sector.
However, it is the state by state date which really highlights the true “state” of play. In NSW, we see a strong pickup in unit approvals, driven by investment property demand and high residential prices.
Compare this with WA, where, as the resource boom slides into the dust, approvals are down for both units and houses, though we see the mix is strongly aligned towards houses rather than units.
In SA, approvals are falling, and only a small number of approvals are for units.
In QLD, we see momentum in units, whilst approvals for houses has fallen a little.
Finally, in VIC. momentum is positive, and both houses and apartments are up, with slightly more than half being for units.
