Dwelling approvals rise in December

The number of dwellings approved rose 2.1 per cent in December 2019, in trend terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today. Even with this upswing to end the year, the number of dwellings approved in the 2019 calendar year was 19.1 per cent lower than the previous year.

"The trend for the total dwelling approvals series continued to rise at the end of 2019," said Daniel Rossi, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS.

The increase in December was driven by private sector dwellings excluding houses (e.g. townhouses and apartments), which rose 4.9 per cent. Private sector houses also increased, by 0.3 per cent.

Across the states and territories, dwelling approvals rose in Victoria (6.1 per cent), Northern Territory (4.7 per cent), Australian Capital Territory (1.0 per cent), New South Wales (0.5 per cent) and South Australia (0.5 per cent). Decreases were recorded in Tasmania (2.0 per cent), Western Australia (1.4 per cent) and Queensland (1.3 per cent), in trend terms.

Approvals for private sector houses increased in Western Australia (2.0 per cent), Victoria (1.1 per cent), Queensland (1.1 per cent) and South Australia (0.5 per cent). Private house approvals in New South Wales fell 2.1 per cent, in trend terms.

The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved fell 0.2 per cent in December, after a 10.9 per cent rise in the previous month. Both private houses and dwellings excluding houses fell by 0.1 per cent.

The value of total building approved fell 0.6 per cent in December, in trend terms, and has fallen for six months. The value of residential building rose 1.1 per cent, while non-residential building fell 2.7 per cent.

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0).