- Approvals rose by 42% in February
- Approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses fell by 29.9% in March
- The rise in February was helped by major public projects, with four worth over $100 million each
As ongoing labour and supply chain shortages persist, dwelling approvals fell sharply in March, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Following a 42% rise in February, the total number of dwellings approved fell by 18.5% in seasonally adjusted terms.
“The fall in the total number of dwellings approved in March was driven by approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses, which fell 29.9 per cent,” commented ABS Director of Construction Statistics, Daniel Rossi.
“Approvals for private sector houses also decreased, falling 3.0 per cent in March, following a 14.6 per cent rise in February.”
Daniel Rossi, ABS
Victoria led the way with a 34.6% decline in the number of dwelling approvals. This was followed by Tasmania (-27.3%), New South Wales (-23.9%) and South Australia (-23.5%), all in seasonally adjusted terms.
Queensland and Western Australia bucked the trend, recording dwelling approvals increases of 12.4% and 5.1% respectively.
This was similar for private sector homes which rose in Queensland (5.8%) and Western Australia (0.3%) with falls in all the other mainland states – New South Wales (-7.5%), Vicotria (-5%) and South Australia (-2.2%), again in seasonally adjusted terms.
In March, the value of total building approved fell by 10.8%. The value of total residential buildings also decreased by 19.8%, following the 37.7% rise in February.
The fall in residential building value was fuelled by a 20.7% decrease in new residential buildings while alterations and additions remained flat.
Non-residential buildings fell by 0.8%, following a 130% rise in February. The result in March was largely driven by major public developments, with 11 valued at over $30 million including four worth greater than $100 million.
