Dwelling approvals fall in March

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Released
4/05/2026
Source
Building Approvals, Australia, March 2026
Release date and time
04/05/2026 11:30am AEST

The total number of dwellings approved fell 10.5 per cent in March to 17,300, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, said: 'The fall in total dwellings approved was driven by a 26.0 per cent drop in private dwellings excluding houses, following a 101.1 per cent rise in this series in February.

'Private sector house approvals gained 0.9 per cent, to the highest level since November 2021.'

New South Wales drives private sector house approvals

Private sector house approvals rose 0.9 per cent to 10,194 dwellings - 12.0 per cent higher than one year ago.

'New South Wales recorded the largest rise in private sector house approvals, up 9.5 per cent, to the highest level since August 2022. This rise follows subdued levels for detached housing over the last few years,' Mr Rossi said. 

'Western Australia had the largest fall in March, down 8.6 per cent. Despite the drop, house approvals remain higher than the twelve month average.'

Private other dwelling approvals drop in March

Private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 26.0 per cent to 6,632 dwellings in March. This follows last month which saw the highest level of private other dwellings since June 2018.

In original terms, apartment approvals fell 30.2 per cent to 3,768 dwellings. This result is lower than the average of the prior twelve months of 3,872 dwellings, by 2.7 per cent.

New semi-detached approvals rose 0.6 per cent in March, to 3,051 dwellings, 5.9 per cent higher than the prior twelve months average of 2,880 dwellings.

(a) Seasonally adjusted estimates are not published for NT and ACT for all dwelling types. Private sector houses are not published for Tasmania.

Residential and non-residential approval values fall

The value of total building approved fell 19.4 per cent (to $16.74 billion), coming off a record high in February. 

Approved total residential building value dropped 15.8 per cent (to $10.77b), comprised of a 17.7 per cent fall in new residential building (to $9.43 billion) and a 0.8 per cent rise in alterations and additions (to $1.34 billion).

The value of non-residential building fell 25.3 per cent (to $5.97 billion), after a 3.2 per cent February fall. 

Find more information, including state and territory analysis, in our Building Approvals, Australia product.

Media notes

  • "Private sector dwellings excluding houses" includes semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses and apartments
  • All numbers in this media release are in seasonally adjusted terms, unless otherwise stated.
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