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DECEMBER KEY FIGURES

	Dec qtr 04	Sep qtr 04 to Dec qtr 04	Dec qtr 03 to Dec qtr 04
	$m	% change	% change
TREND ESTIMATES(a)
Value of work done	12,417.8	-1.1	0.4
New residential building	7,028.9	-2.2	-0.6
Alterations and additions to residential building	1,341.4	-0.3	1.9
Non-residential building	4,039.7	0.4	1.5
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES(a)
Value of work done	12,453.7	0.4	-0.3
New residential building	6,940.7	-4.2	-2.8
Alterations and additions to residential building	1,328.3	-1.9	-0.4
Non-residential building	4,184.8	9.9	4.1
(a) Chain volume measures, reference year 2002-03.

Value of work done, Volume terms

Value of work done, Volume terms - Trend estimates

DECEMBER KEY POINTS


VALUE OF WORK DONE, VOLUME TERMS

TREND ESTIMATES

• The trend estimate of the value of total building work done fell 1.1% in the December quarter 2004, the third consecutive quarterly fall.
• The value of new residential building work fell 2.2% in the latest quarter. New houses fell 2.8% and new other residential buildings fell 1.1%. Alterations and additions was relatively flat (-0.3%) and non-residential work done in the quarter rose marginally (+0.4%).

• In seasonally adjusted terms, total building work done rose 0.4% in the December quarter, to $12,453.7m.
• New residential work fell 4.2%, to $6,940.7m. New houses fell 4.0%, to $4,579.7m, while new other residential building fell 4.4%, to $2,361.0m. Alterations and additions fell 1.9% to $1,328.3m. Non-residential work done rose 9.9%, to $4,184.8m, the highest level since the December quarter 1990.

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

The order and composition of the tables and charts on pages three to five in this publication have been changed from previous issues.

SIGNIFICANT REVISIONS THIS ISSUE

Compared with the estimates in current price original terms published in the previous issue of this publication:

• the total number of dwellings commenced during the September quarter 2004 has been revised downwards by 373 (-0.9%). This was mainly the result of downward revisions of 183 (-1.7%) in New South Wales and 119 (-1.1%) in Victoria.
• the total value of building work done during the September quarter has been revised downwards by $190.9m (-1.3%).

VALUE OF WORK DONE, Volume terms - December Qtr 2004


SUMMARY COMMENTS

• In the December quarter 2004, the seasonally adjusted estimate of total building work done rose in half of the states with Victoria (+4.3%) and the Northern Territory (+5.5%) recording the largest increases. These increases offset falls in New South Wales (-5.7%), Queensland (-0.9%), Tasmania (-0.4%) and the Australian Capital Territory (-12.1%).
• In original terms, all states and territories other than New South Wales (-0.8%), Queensland (-0.1%) and the Australian Capital Territory (-9.7%) recorded an increase in total building work done. The largest increases in original terms were in South Australia (+7.7%), Tasmania (+7.0%) and the Northern Territory (+14.6%).

		NSW	Vic.	Qld	SA	WA	Tas.	NT	ACT	Aust.
ORIGINAL(a)
Value of work done
	New residential building ($m)	2,016.8	2,058.6	1,750.9	402.3	736.4	107.0	60.4	110.7	7,243.1
	Alterations and additions to residential building ($m)	535.1	417.3	230.1	76.0	76.5	23.3	11.8	22.2	1,392.3
	Non-residential building ($m)	1,370.6	1,398.1	805.2	328.9	368.0	53.7	40.6	60.1	4,425.2
	Total building ($m)	3,922.4	3,874.0	2,786.3	807.1	1,180.9	184.0	112.9	193.1	13,060.6
Percentage change
	New residential building (%)	-9.4	-0.8	-4.1	14.4	0.4	10.9	12.1	-3.7	-3.1
	Alterations and additions to residential building (%)	-0.9	-1.4	6.7	-9.0	-0.1	9.0	19.3	-10.9	-0.2
	Non-residential building (%)	15.4	12.1	7.6	4.7	5.2	-0.6	17.2	-18.5	10.4
	Total building (%)	-0.8	3.4	-0.1	7.7	1.8	7.0	14.6	-9.7	1.4
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED(a)
Value of work done
	New residential building ($m)	1,899.0	2,057.1	1,663.8	376.1	712.3	100.5	na	108.8	6,940.7
	Alterations and additions to residential building ($m)	507.5	413.1	208.2	72.3	75.1	21.8	na	20.7	1,328.3
	Non-residential building ($m)	1,302.8	1,324.1	759.8	311.4	344.5	49.1	na	55.7	4,184.8
	Total building ($m)	3,709.3	3,794.2	2,631.8	759.7	1,131.9	171.4	103.8	185.2	12,453.7
Percentage change
	New residential building (%)	-14.2	3.1	-3.5	7.3	-1.7	2.0	na	-4.3	-4.2
	Alterations and additions to residential building (%)	-4.2	-1.9	-	-9.2	-2.8	3.0	na	-12.1	-1.9
	Non-residential building (%)	9.6	8.3	5.1	-	14.7	-6.3	na	-24.2	9.9
	Total building (%)	-5.7	4.3	-0.9	2.5	2.7	-0.4	5.5	-12.1	0.4
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
na not available
(a) Chain volume measures, reference year 2002-03.

VALUE OF WORK DONE, Volume terms


TREND ESTIMATES

New South Wales, Victoria

Queensland, Western Australia

South Australia, Tasmania

Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory

VALUE OF WORK COMMENCED, Volume terms


TREND AND SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES

	Dec qtr 04	Sep qtr 04 to Dec qtr 04	Dec qtr 03 to Dec qtr 04
	$m	% change	% change
TREND(a)
Value of work commenced	12,045.6	-0.8	-3.1
New residential building	6,793.5	-3.1	-5.9
Alterations and additions to residential building	1,237.6	-1.4	-3.7
Non-residential building	3,968.6	2.4	1.2
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED(a)
Value of work commenced	12,070.2	-0.1	-5.3
New residential building	6,842.1	0.4	-7.5
Alterations and additions to residential building	1,216.1	-3.1	-8.4
Non-residential building	4,012.0	0.2	-0.2
(a) Chain volume measures, reference year 2002-03.

TREND

• The December quarter 2004 trend estimate of the total value of building work commenced fell 0.8% from the September quarter 2004 estimate.
• The value of new residential building commenced is now showing a fall for the past three quarters, down 3.1% in the December quarter 2004. New house commencements show a decline over the past three quarters, falling 3.3% in the December quarter 2004. New other residential building fell 2.3%. Alterations and additions to residential buildings fell 1.4%, the third consecutive quarterly decline. Non-residential building commencements are showing increases for the past two quarters, rising 2.4% in the December quarter 2004.

VALUE OF WORK COMMENCED IN VOLUME TERMS, Trend

• In seasonally adjusted terms, the total value of building work commenced was relatively flat (-0.1%) in the December quarter 2004, at $12,070.2m.
• Commencements of new residential buildings rose 0.4%, to $6,842.1m. New house commencements fell 1.1% to $4,643.6m, while new other residential building rose 3.7% to $2,198.5m. Alterations and additions fell 3.1% to $1,216.1m.
• Non-residential work commenced was relatively flat (+0.2%), at $4,012.0m.