Australian Bureau Of Statistics

Dwelling Approvals Decline During January In Trend Terms

Victor P Taffa

Number of dwellings approved in Australia fell by 3.2 % in January 2019, in trend terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

“Trend for the total dwelling approvals series has steadily declined over the past year.” ABS Director of Construction Statistics Justin Lokhorst said.

“Series is now at its lowest level since May 2013.”

Decrease in January was driven by private sector dwellings excluding houses (e.g. townhouses and apartments), which fell 8.1 % in trend terms. Private sector houses also declined, by 0.4 %.

States And Territories

Total dwelling approvals fell in:

• Australian Capital Territory (19.8 %),
• Northern Territory (8.0 %),
• Victoria (4.5 %),
• Queensland (3.9 %),
• New South Wales (2.3 %),
• South Australia (0.8 %).

Total dwelling approvals rose in:

• Western Australia (2.2 %),
• Tasmania (1.4 %).

Approvals for private sector houses fell in:

• Queensland (1.4 %),
• New South Wales (0.6 %),
• Victoria (0.3 %).

Approvals for private sector houses rose in:

• South Australia (2.3 %),
• Western Australia (0.2 %).

In seasonally adjusted terms, total dwellings rose by 2.5 % in January, driven by rises in:

• Western Australia (28.8 %),
• Tasmania (15.4 %),
• New South Wales (12.0 %).

Private dwellings excluding houses rose 2.7 %, while private houses also increased (by 2.1 %).

Value of total building approved fell 1.5 % in January, in trend terms, and has fallen for 14 months. The value of residential building fell 2.7 %, while non-residential building rose 0.4 %.