Australian Bureau Of Statistics

Dwelling Approvals Fall In August

Victor P Taffa

Number of dwellings approved in Australia fell by 1.9 % in August 2018 in trend terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

“Fall was mainly driven by private dwellings excluding houses, which decreased by 2.7 % in August.” ABS Director of Construction Statistics Justin Lokhorst said.

“Private sector houses also fell, by 1.2 %.”

States And Territories

Dwelling approvals in trend terms fell in:

• Victoria (5.1 %),
• South Australia (3.6 %),
• New South Wales (1.6 %).

Dwelling approvals rose in trend terms in:

• Western Australia (2.7 %),
• Tasmania (2.3 %),
• Northern Territory (1.5 %),
• Australian Capital Territory (0.1 %).

Dwelling approvals were flat in Queensland.

In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses fell 1.2 % in August.

Private sector house approvals fell in:

• Queensland (3.3 %),
• Victoria (1.4 %),
• New South Wales (1.1 %),
• South Australia (0.7 %).

Private sector house approvals rose in Western Australia (1.4 %).

In seasonally adjusted terms, total dwellings fell by 9.4 % in August, driven by a 17.2 % decrease in private dwellings excluding houses. Private houses fell 1.9 % in seasonally adjusted terms.

Value of total building approved fell 1.3 % in August, in trend terms, and has fallen for 9 months. The value of residential building fell 0.8 % while non-residential building fell 2.3 %.