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Building approvals for residential property fell by 3.6 per cent in November, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.
Recent data published by the ABS has indicated that building approvals for residential properties went backwards for the month of November, despite ongoing calls for increased housing stock.
The data included a slump of 10.8 per cent for private dwellings excluding houses, which includes semi-detached homes, terraces, townhouses and apartments.
Approvals for houses fell 1.7 per cent.
However, building approvals for all homes is 3.2 per cent higher than in November 2023.
According to the findings, Queensland was the only state to record an increase in the number of private sector house approvals for the month at 4.3 per cent.
Despite the drop, Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist Matt King explained that the data showed “signs of life” for building approvals, with total dwelling approvals up 7.2 per cent over the three-month period.
“November 2024 marked exactly one year since the RBA last raised interest rates. Unchanged interest rate settings have provided a welcomed degree of certainty for consumers,” King explained.
“Population growth rates have slowed across the country but remain elevated which is contributing to strong underlying demand for housing.
“Detached house approvals continue to rebound off a very low base, further confirming that the trough of the cycle is now in the rear-view mirror.
“Multi-unit approvals rose by 20.1 per cent in the three months to November 2024 and were up 2.6 per cent on the corresponding period in 2023. Despite some observable improvement, approvals for multi-units have been trending at decade-low levels and remain subdued amid challenges with capacity.”
Despite this, Urban Taskforce chief executive officer Tom Forrest said that the data indicated a large hurdle for NSW.
“Despite a range of state and federal programs designed to promote housing supply, dwelling approvals data from the last 12 months shows a chronic trend in the wrong direction.
“The uptake on the 37 Tier 2 TOD precincts has been extremely disappointing and reflect a failure of those writing the policy to grasp the basic economics of housing supply.
“Worse, the Tier 1 TOD Accelerated Precincts reflect a great policy intent, but are, in many locations, ruined by the detail. It is no wonder the Premier and Planning Minister are looking to change the act.
“Today’s data shows the total number of dwellings approved in NSW was 42,109 over the 12 months until November 2024. This is still 34,000 too few to meet the National Housing Accord quota for NSW, and with every month that NSW falls short, more will need to be done in future months.”
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