CONSTRUCTION

BUILDING APPROVALS

There were 4,199 houses (trend) approved for construction in Western Australia in the three months to July 2008, 7 approvals more than in the previous three month period. This small rise of 0.2% was the first increase since the 1.5% (84 approvals) growth recorded in the three months to April 2006. However, approvals for other residential dwellings (comprising semi-detached houses, townhouses and flats, units and apartments) fell 13.3% (209 approvals) to 1,367 in the three months to July 2008 . As a result, the total number of dwellings approved for construction declined, falling by 3.5% (202 approvals) to 5,566 approvals.

In the three months to July 2008, the number of new house approvals (original) in Western Australia rose by 15.8% (622 approvals), compared to the previous quarter. It is the first increase since the three months to July 2007 rise of 5.7% (254 approvals). The total number of building approvals also grew, a rise of 6.3% (360 approvals) over the same period.

In terms of dollar value, new house approvals increased 11.9% ($128 million) to $1,205 million, following a decrease of 4.5% ($51 million) in the previous three months period. The value of total building approvals rose by 33.6% ($814 million) to $3,236 million in the three months to July 2008, after a fall of 35.2% ($1,316 million) in the previous three months period.