The number of dwellings approved rose 1.0 per cent in February, in trend terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
"The rise was driven by private sector dwellings excluding houses, which rose 1.6 per cent, in trend terms," said Daniel Rossi, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS. "A significant rise in the number of apartments approved in February has offset the weakness recorded in January. Private sector houses also rose 0.6 per cent".
Across the states and territories, dwelling approvals rose in Victoria (3.9 per cent) and Queensland (0.4 per cent). Falls were recorded in the Australian Capital Territory (7.7 per cent), Northern Territory (5.3 per cent), South Australia (2.6 per cent), Western Australia (2.0 per cent) and New South Wales (0.1 per cent), in trend terms, while Tasmania was flat.
Approvals for private sector houses increased in Western Australia (1.0 per cent), Victoria (0.9 per cent), Queensland (0.6 per cent) and New South Wales (0.2 per cent), in trend terms, while South Australia was flat.
The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved rose 19.9 per cent in February, driven by a 61.7 per cent increase in private dwellings excluding houses. This was largely due to strength in approvals for apartments in Victoria, which came off a low base in January.
The value of total building approved rose 0.6 per cent in February, in trend terms, and has risen for three months. The value of residential building rose 0.9 per cent, while non-residential building increased 0.1 per cent.
Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0).
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