Dwelling approvals up in May

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Released
2/07/2025
Source
Building Approvals, Australia, May 2025

The total number of dwellings approved rose 3.2 per cent in May to 15,212, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, said: 'Private dwellings excluding houses rose 11.3 per cent in May, driving the overall increase in dwellings approved.’ 

‘Private sector houses had a smaller increase, rising 0.5 per cent.’

Victoria drives private sector houses higher

The 0.5 per cent rise in private sector house approvals (to 9,454 dwellings) followed a 5.9 per cent rise in April. The May rise brought private house approvals up to the highest level since October 2024.

‘Victoria had a strong month for private sector house approvals, with the state up 9.5 per cent.' Mr Rossi said. 

'The rise in Victoria was mostly offset by a 7.6 per cent drop in Western Australia and a 5.4 per cent fall in New South Wales.' 

Apartment approvals rise in May

The 11.3 per cent rise in private sector dwellings excluding houses (to 5,571 dwellings) followed a 19.0 per cent fall in April. The result is 11.9 per cent higher than one year ago.

In original terms, approvals for apartments rose 40.1 per cent, driving the overall rise in the series.

New South Wales had the largest increase in apartment approvals with 2,274 apartments approved in May, compared with 672 in April.

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

Non-residential approvals drives fall in value  

The value of total building approved fell 8.6 per cent in May to $15.45 billion, following an 6.1 per cent rise in April.

The overall drop in value was driven by a 22.4 per cent fall in non-residential building approved to $6.16b. This followed a rise of 14.7 per cent in April.

Despite the fall, the value of non-residential building approved is 5.8 per cent higher than May 2024. The second highest value for this series was last month in April.

The value of total residential building rose 3.6 per cent to $9.28 billion. This is the third highest value of total residential building recorded.

'The value of approved residential alterations and additions reached an all-time high in May, up 3.2 per cent to $1.22 billion.' Mr Rossi said.

More information is available in Building Approvals, Australia.

Media notes

  • "Private sector dwellings excluding houses" includes semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses and apartments.
  • When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
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