Dwelling approvals stable in March

The number of dwellings approved rose 1.3 per cent in March, 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 2.8 per cent, in trend terms. Private sector houses also rose 0.2 per cent," said Daniel Rossi, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS.

"This result indicates that in March, there was no evident impact on building approvals from COVID-19, however the ABS is monitoring for potential impacts in coming months."

Across the states and territories, dwelling approvals rose in New South Wales (5.2 per cent), Tasmania (3.4 per cent), Western Australia (2.2 per cent) and Victoria (0.7 per cent), in trend terms. Falls were recorded in the Australian Capital Territory (7.0 per cent), South Australia (4.9 per cent) and Queensland (1.8 per cent), while Northern Territory was flat.

Approvals for private sector houses increased in New South Wales (1.4 per cent) and Victoria (0.1 per cent), in trend terms. Meanwhile, declines were recorded in South Australia (1.4 per cent), Queensland (0.9 per cent) and Western Australia (0.1 per cent).

In seasonally adjusted terms, there was a 4.0 per cent decline in dwellings approved in March, driven by a 8.2 per cent decrease in private dwellings excluding houses. Private sector houses also fell by 1.2 per cent.

The value of total building approved rose 1.3 per cent in March, in trend terms, and has now risen for the last four months. The value of residential building rose 0.5 per cent, while non-residential building increased 2.3 per cent.

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