MAY KEY FIGURES

		May 10	Apr 10 to May 10	May 09 to May 10
		no.	% change	% change
TREND
	Total dwelling units approved	14 270	-2.0	26.8
	Private sector houses	8 994	-1.7	10.0
	Private sector other dwellings	3 997	0.3	54.4
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED
	Total dwelling units approved	13 412	-6.6	26.6
	Private sector houses	8 835	1.7	9.2
	Private sector other dwellings	3 643	-18.8	86.1

Dwelling units approved

Private sector houses approved

MAY KEY POINTS


TOTAL DWELLING UNITS

• The trend estimate for total dwellings approved fell 2.0% in May 2010 and is now showing falls for four months.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved fell 6.6% and has fallen for two months.

PRIVATE SECTOR HOUSES

• The trend estimate for private sector houses approved fell 1.7% in May and has fallen for five months.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector houses approved rose 1.7% following a fall last month.

PRIVATE SECTOR OTHER DWELLING UNITS

• The trend estimate for private sector other dwellings approved rose 0.3% in May and has risen for eleven months.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector other dwellings approved fell 18.8% following rises for two months.

VALUE OF BUILDING APPROVED

• The trend estimate for the value of total building approved fell 1.9% in May and has fallen for four months. The trend estimates for the value of building approved should be interpreted with caution. See the data notes on page 2 of this publication.
• The seasonally adjusted estimate for the value of total building approved rose 2.7% in May. The seasonally adjusted estimate for the value of new residential building fell 0.6% while the value of residential alterations and additions rose 4.5%. The seasonally adjusted estimate for the value of non-residential building rose 9.1%.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE	Release Date
June 2010	3 August 2010
July 2010	31 August 2010
August 2010	30 September 2010
September 2010	3 November 2010
October 2010	30 November 2010
November 2010	6 January 2011

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

There are no changes in this issue.


REVISIONS THIS MONTH

Revisions to the total number of dwelling units approved in this issue are:

	2008-09	2009-10	TOTAL
NSW	-	107	107
Vic.	99	648	747
Qld	-	42	42
SA	-	-	-
WA	-	206	206
Tas.	-	-1	-1
NT	-	-	-
ACT	21	-	21
Total	120	1 002	1 122

Significant revisions to the number of dwellings approved are the result of the inclusion of previously unreported data.


DATA NOTES

The trend estimates should be interpreted with caution as the underlying behaviour of building approvals may be affected by initiatives within the Government stimulus package, which included the "Building the Education Revolution" (BER) program and the Social Housing Initiative as well as other developments associated with global economic conditions. From June 2009 to February 2010 BER impacts were quantified and removed from the trend estimates because of its short term nature. From March 2010 these impacts are no longer removed from the trend estimates as their effect has significantly declined. For more details on trend estimates, please see paragraphs 20 to 23 of the explanatory notes.

Seasonally adjusted and trend estimates have been revised in this issue as a result of the annual reanalysis of seasonal factors. Non-residential value time series at the state level are highly volatile. Nevertheless they contain seasonal variation and continue to be seasonally adjusted.


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Paul Pamment on Adelaide (08) 8237 7648.