Building Approvals Momentum Easing

ABS figures released today show that building approvals increased by 2.2 per cent in September and therefore continue to flow through at a historically high level. However, the strong upward momentum in multi-unit approvals that characterised the earlier part of the cycle has dissipated, said the Housing Industry Association.

"Around the nation, there was a total of 9,300 'other dwellings' approved during September. While this equates to a 6.1 per cent increase in approvals during the month, the level was still well below the high water mark set earlier in the year," said HIA Economist Geordan Murray.

"Approvals for dwellings in multi-unit developments continued to demonstrate a high degree of volatility, particularly at the state level. There were large fluctuations in a number of states, most notably in Queensland where multi-unit approvals jumped by more than 80 per cent.""The increase in multi-unit approvals was balanced by a modest decline of 1.9 per cent in detached house approvals. There were a total of 9,600 new detached houses approved during September, which is consistent with the level we have seen each month since the beginning of 2014.""Today's result reaffirms our view that we are seeing the peak in the current cycle, and we expect to see building approval numbers easing back throughout early 2016. However, there is a very large volume of work in the pipeline that will sustain a very healthy level of actual building activity throughout the upcoming year."During September 2015, total seasonally adjusted new home building approvals increased in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania. Seasonally adjusted approvals declined in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia. In trend terms, approvals declined by 3.5 per cent in the Northern Territory and by 0.7 per cent in the Australian Capital Territory.