Australia’s new dwelling approvals fell 8.2 per cent in July to 15,769 in seasonally adjusted terms, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, said: “The drop in total dwellings was driven by a 22.3 per cent fall in private dwellings excluding houses, which rose 33.5 per cent in the previous month.” He added: “The less volatile private sector houses rose 1.1 per cent.”
Private sector houses increased to 9,288 approvals, 0.3 per cent higher than a year earlier. Private sector dwellings excluding houses fell to 5,943, unwinding part of June’s jump, which the ABS said was the strongest result since December 2022.
“New South Wales and Western Australia had the strongest rise in private sector house approvals, with both states up 3.0 per cent.” Mr Rossi said. “Victoria gained 1.3 per cent and has risen for a fourth consecutive month. South Australia was the only state to record a fall, down 6.1 per cent.”
Across the states, total dwelling units approved were 4,227 in New South Wales, 4,400 in Victoria, 3,427 in Queensland, 1,256 in South Australia and 1,987 in Western Australia.
The value of total building approved fell 7.3 per cent in July to $15.52 billion, driven by a 14.9 per cent drop in non-residential approvals to $6.09 billion after a 13.5 per cent rise in June. Total residential building value eased 1.6 per cent to $9.43 billion, with new residential down 2.1 per cent to $8.18 billion. Residential alterations and additions reached a record $1.25 billion, up 1.9 per cent.
“In chain volume terms, the value of total building work approved was $44.9 billion in the June quarter, the highest level since the June quarter of 2021.” Mr Rossi said.
Note: Seasonally adjusted estimates are not published for the Northern Territory and the ACT for all dwelling types. Private sector house estimates are not published for Tasmania. All figures are seasonally adjusted unless stated.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
