Total approvals fall in January

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Released
3/03/2026
Source
Building Approvals, Australia, January 2026
Release date and time
03/03/2026 11:30am AEDT

The total number of dwellings approved fell 7.2 per cent in January to 14,564, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, said: 'The drop in total dwellings approved was driven by a 24.5 per cent fall in private dwellings excluding houses. 

‘This is the second consecutive fall in private dwellings excluding houses, following a 30.7 per cent drop in December.'

Private sector house approvals mixed across the states

Private sector house approvals rose 1.1 per cent to 9,753 dwellings. This is 7.1 per cent higher than one year ago.

'Western Australia had recorded the largest rise in January, up 11.5 per cent, to reach the highest level since May 2021,' Mr Rossi said. 

'In contrast, South Australia had the largest fall, down 8.9 per cent.'
 

Apartment and townhouse approvals fall in January

In original terms, apartment approvals fell by almost half to 1,819 dwellings. This is a larger fall than in December and 60.1 per cent lower than a year earlier.

Townhouse approvals also fell in January, down 39.2 per cent (to 1,684 dwellings), after a 3.5 per cent fall in December. This is 11.0 per cent lower than a year earlier.

'We often see a drop in approvals in January with many people on holiday or taking annual leave,’ Mr Rossi said.

‘This is evident in original numbers which do not account for seasonal effects.’ 
 

(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 building drives rise in approved value

The value of total building approved rose 7.3 per cent in January to $17.71 billion, after a 11.4 per cent fall last month. 

Driving the overall value rise was non-residential building which was up 19.1 per cent to $8.24b after a 5.2 per cent fall in December. 

Total residential building fell 1.2 per cent (to $9.48 billion).  The result was comprised of a 1.6 per cent fall in new residential building (to $8.21 billion) and a 1.6 per cent rise in alterations and additions (to $1.27 billion).

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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