• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

JULY KEY FIGURES

		Jul 04	Jun 04 to Jul 04	Jul 03 to Jul 04
		no.	% change	% change
Trend
Dwelling units approved
	Private sector houses	9,116	-1.0	-10.6
	Total dwelling units	14,437	-0.3	-3.1
Seasonally Adjusted
Dwelling units approved
	Private sector houses	8,960	-2.8	-12.9
	Total dwelling units	14,438	-0.7	-5.1

Dwelling units approved, Total number

Private sector houses approved, Total number

JULY KEY POINTS


TREND ESTIMATES

• The trend estimate for total dwelling units approved fell 0.3% in July 2004. This series has been relatively flat for the past 5 months.
• The trend estimate for private sector houses approved fell 1.0% in July 2004. The trend has now fallen for ten consecutive months.
• The trend estimate for other dwellings approved has risen for the last seven months, with the rate of growth slowing in recent months. The trend rose 0.5% in July 2004.

• The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwelling units approved fell 0.7%, to 14,438, in July 2004.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector houses approved fell 2.8%, to 8,960, in July 2004.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate for other dwellings approved rose 4.1%, to 5,286, in July 2004.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate of the value of total building approved rose 0.6%, to $4,244.4m, in July 2004. The value of new residential building approved fell for the second consecutive month, falling 3.1% in July 2004, to $2,477.0m.

A feature article, 'Are We Building on Smaller Blocks?', is included on pages 7–9.

The ABS is planning changes to the format and content of the front page of this publication from the August 2004 issue.

REVISIONS THIS MONTH

Revisions have been made to total dwelling units in this issue:

	2003-04
New South Wales	164
Victoria	-46
Queensland	-56
South Australia	5
Western Australia	-19
Tasmania	-2
TOTAL	46

A significant upward revision has been made to the value of non-residential building approved in May 2004, mostly as a result of including a previously unreported approval in New South Wales.

DATA NOTES

There will be 232 permanent dwellings constructed for the Commonwealth Games Village as well as some non-residential construction. All the buildings will be included as public sector. As a result, 9 dwellings included in May 2004 will be reclassified from private to public. A further 101 dwellings have been included in July 2004. The remaining approvals are expected to be submitted prior to the end of 2005.

Estimates have been included in this issue for two councils unable to report all building work approved in their municipalities this month (Blue Mountains in New South Wales and Rockingham in Western Australia).

INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or David Finlay on Adelaide (08) 8237 7431.

SUMMARY COMMENTARY


VALUE OF BUILDING APPROVED

NEW RESIDENTIAL BUILDING

The trend estimate of the value of new residential building is now showing a decline over the last three months, falling 1.1% in July 2004.

The trend estimate for private sector houses approved fell 1.0% in July 2004. The trend fell in all states except Victoria (+0.4%) and South Australia (+0.7%).

		NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.
Original
Dwelling units approved
	Private sector houses (no.)	1,609	2,930	2,233	662	1,517	190	50	72	9,263
	Total dwelling units (no.)	3,481	3,779	3,544	1,087	2,210	221	125	72	14,519
Percentage change from previous month
	Private sector houses (%)	-18.4	-0.3	1.5	-20.5	-2.4	-3.6	56.3	-1.4	-5.5
	Total dwelling units (%)	-4.4	3.3	-7.1	-0.1	3.2	-5.6	-10.1	-62.7	-2.6
Seasonally Adjusted
Dwelling units approved
	Private sector houses (no.)	1,651	2,845	2,073	627	1,437	na	na	na	8,960
	Total dwelling units (no.)	3,636	3,694	3,381	1,052	2,242	233	na	na	14,438
Percentage change from previous month
	Private sector houses (%)	-9.1	2.5	0.1	-17.8	-2.0	na	na	na	-2.8
	Total dwelling units (%)	-4.5	5.6	-6.7	3.4	11.8	-2.9	na	na	-0.7
Trend
Dwelling units approved
	Private sector houses (no.)	1,754	2,805	2,040	686	1,487	na	na	na	9,116
	Total dwelling units (no.)	3,733	3,540	3,360	1,004	2,108	270	135	202	14,437
Percentage change from previous month
	Private sector houses (%)	-1.2	0.4	-2.4	0.7	-1.9	na	na	na	-1.0
	Total dwelling units (%)	-1.4	-1.9	0.3	5.5	1.6	-1.8	7.1	-9.8	-0.3
na not available

STATE TRENDS

NEW SOUTH WALES

The trend estimate for total dwelling units approved in New South Wales has fallen for the last four months, following four months of growth. The trend for private sector houses is showing declines for the last eleven months.