8731.0 - Building Approvals, Australia, May 2017 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 03/07/2017   
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MEDIA RELEASE
3 July 2017
Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
Trend dwelling approvals fall 1.9 per cent in May
77/2017
The number of dwellings approved fell 1.9 per cent in May 2017, in trend terms, and has fallen for three months, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

"Dwelling approvals continue to weaken in trend terms, falling by around 700 dwellings over the past three months," said Daniel Rossi, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS. "The May 2017 data showed that the number of dwellings approved is now 18 per cent below the peak in May 2016".

Dwelling approvals decreased in May in the Australian Capital Territory (8.2 per cent), Victoria (3.9 per cent), Western Australia (3.7 per cent) and New South Wales (2.6 per cent), but increased in Queensland (2.2 per cent), Northern Territory (2.1 per cent), South Australia (1.6 per cent) and Tasmania (1.5 per cent) in trend terms.

In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses were flat in May. Private sector house approvals rose in South Australia (1.0 per cent), New South Wales (0.4 per cent) and Victoria (0.2 per cent), but fell in Queensland (0.9 per cent) and Western Australia (0.6 per cent).

In seasonally adjusted terms, dwelling approvals decreased by 5.6 per cent in May, driven by a fall in total dwellings excluding houses (12.6 per cent), while total house approvals rose 0.4 per cent.

The value of total building approved rose 0.8 per cent in May, in trend terms, and has risen for five months. The value of non-residential building rose 4.6 per cent while residential building fell 1.5 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:
  • When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.
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