8731.0 - Building Approvals, Australia, May 2016 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 04/07/2016   
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MEDIA RELEASE
4 July 2016
Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
76/2016
Dwelling approvals continue to rise in trend terms


The number of dwellings approved rose 0.9 per cent in May 2016, in trend terms, and has risen for six months, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

Dwelling approvals increased in May in the Northern Territory (18.7 per cent), Australian Capital Territory (8.2 per cent), New South Wales (2.0 per cent), South Australia (1.9 per cent) and Victoria (1.8 per cent), but decreased in Western Australia (2.6 per cent), Queensland (1.8 per cent) and Tasmania (1.2 per cent) in trend terms.

In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses rose 0.2 per cent in May. Private sector house approvals rose in South Australia (1.9 per cent), New South Wales (1.5 per cent) and Victoria (0.2 per cent), but fell in Western Australia (2.2 per cent) and Queensland (0.5 per cent).

In seasonally adjusted terms, dwelling approvals decreased 5.2 per cent, driven by private sector dwellings excluding houses, which fell 11.3 per cent. Private sector house approvals rose 0.1 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.

The value of total building approved rose 1.0 per cent in May, in trend terms, and has risen for five months. The value of residential building rose 1.5 per cent while non-residential building fell 0.2 per cent.

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0) on the ABS website at https://www.abs.gov.au

Media note:
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