Dwelling approvals rise in February

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Released
1/04/2026
Source
Building Approvals, Australia, February 2026
Release date and time
01/04/2026 11:30am AEDT

The total number of dwellings approved rose 29.7 per cent in February to 19,022, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, said: 'The rise in total dwellings approved was driven by a 101.2 per cent rise in private dwellings excluding houses. This follows a 25.0 per cent fall in private dwellings excluding houses in January and a 29.7 per cent fall in December.

'There have been a total of 195,434 dwellings approved, in original terms, over the past 12 months. This is a 9.0 per cent increase on the 12 months prior to that.'

Private sector house approvals mixed across the states

Private sector house approvals rose 0.2 per cent to 9,847 dwellings. This is 6.1 per cent higher than one year ago.

'New South Wales recorded the largest rise in private sector house approvals, up 13.7 per cent to the highest level since December 2023,' Mr Rossi said. 'In contrast, Queensland had the largest fall in February, down 13.4 per cent.'

Apartment and townhouse approvals rise in February

Private sector dwellings excluding houses rose 101.2 per cent to 8,922 dwellings in February.

In original terms, apartment approvals rose 191.2 per cent to 5,398 dwellings. This is 29.8 per cent higher than one year ago.

Townhouse approvals also rose in February, up 73.8 per cent to 2,981 dwellings, after a 38.7 per cent fall in January. 

  1. Seasonally adjusted estimates are not published for NT and ACT for all dwelling types. Private sector houses are not published for Tasmania.
Residential building drives rise in approved value

The value of total building approved rose 14.4 per cent in February to $20.43 billion, after a 7.8 per cent rise last month. 

Residential buildings drove the overall rise in building value, rising by 30.8 per cent (to $12.50b) to reach a new record high. The result was comprised of a 35.9 per cent rise in new residential building (to $11.21 billion) and a 1.2 per cent fall in alterations and additions (to $1.29 billion).

The value of non-residential building fell 4.4 per cent to $7.93 billion, after a 19.5 per cent rise in January. 

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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