1367.5 - Western Australian Statistical Indicators, 2010  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 08/04/2010  Final
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This document was added or updated on 30/07/2010.

MEDIA RELEASE
30 July, 2010
Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
92/2010

Only one third of building approvals in Perth are for medium to high density housing: ABS


Low density dwellings still make up two thirds of all building approvals in the Perth metropolitan area, according to a report released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The study shows this proportion has barely changed in the last decade despite state government goals for higher urban density. As the fastest growing capital city in Australia, state government estimates indicate that Perth would need 328,000 additional dwellings by 2031, if a projected population of more than 2.2 million is reached. In this scenario, almost half of these dwellings would be required as urban in-fill.

Since 2001, there has been a small increase in the proportion of Building Approvals for Flats, Units and Apartments, rising from 9% to 12% of all approvals. However, the proportion of approvals for Clustered (medium density) dwellings, around 21%, has not increased.

Approvals for medium and high density dwellings tend to be concentrated in the older inner suburban areas of the city, while approvals for low density housing dominate in the outer metropolitan areas.

Further information is available in the feature article in today's release, Western Australian Statistical Indicators (cat. no. 1367.5).