1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2005  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 21/01/2005   
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Contents >> Construction >> Residential building

Residential building involves the construction of dwelling units, including new houses, new other residential buildings (flats, apartments, villa units, townhouses, duplexes, etc.), and dwellings created as part of alterations and additions to existing buildings (including conversions to dwelling units). Building approvals are used as a key indicator of future activity, as nearly all building activity must be approved by local and/or other authorities.

Residential building approvals

Graph 19.11 shows total dwelling unit approvals between 1995-96 and 1998-99 experienced relatively stable growth. Activity brought forward ahead of the introduction of The New Tax System in July 2000 contributed to the increase and decrease between early-1999 and late-2000. In 2003-04 total number of dwelling unit approvals slightly increased to 179,690.

Graph 19.11: DWELLING UNITS APPROVED, Original



The major component of dwelling unit approvals is new houses, as shown in table 19.12. New house approvals accounted for 67% of total dwelling unit approvals in 2003-04, up from 65.6% in 2002-03. New other residential dwelling units and conversions both experienced a decrease in number of approvals in 2003-04, of 2.2% and 34.1% respectively.


19.12 DWELLING UNITS APPROVED
New houses
New other residential dwelling units
Conversions
Total dwelling units(a)
1999-2000
123,191
50,244
1,911
176,758
2000-01
80,095
37,959
2,225
121,304
2001-02
121,516
48,533
1,909
172,818
2002-03
116,543
58,163
1,841
177,759
2003-04
120,442
56,898
1,213
179,690
(a) The total includes non-residential buildings and alterations and additions to residential buildings.

Source: Building Approvals, Australia (8731.0).

New other residential building approvals

Other residential building refers to structures other than houses, which are built for accommodation purposes. This includes buildings such as blocks of flats, units and apartments, and semi-detached houses and townhouses.

Prior to 1996-97 approvals for semi-detached houses/townhouses and the like were greater than for flats, units and apartments. From 1996-97 the number of approvals for flats, units and apartments has consistently exceeded approvals for semi-detached houses/row/terrace/townhouses and the like.

In 2003-04 the number of approvals for flats, units and apartments decreased by 9.4% following increases in 2001-02 and 2002-03. It is still the major component of new other residential approvals contributing 60% of all approvals. Approvals for semi-detached houses/row/terrace/townhouses and the like increased by 10% in 2003-04 (graph 19.13).

Graph 19.13: NEW OTHER RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS APPROVED



Table 19.14 provides more details of the types of other residential dwelling units approved. In 2002-03 new semi detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses and the like, showed increases in both one storey (12%) and two or more storeys (9%) approvals. New flats, units or apartments building approvals, despite decreasing overall in 2002-03, increased for one or two storeys by 21%. Approvals for new flats, units or apartments with four storeys or more, accounted for 42% of new other residential building approvals in 2003-04, down from 48% in 2002-03.


19.14 NEW OTHER RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS APPROVED
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
New semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses and the like
One storey
10,455
7,420
9,063
9,477
10,601
Two or more storeys
12,916
8,578
10,567
11,905
12,990
Total
23,371
15,998
19,630
21,382
23,591
New flats, units or apartments in a building
One or two storeys
5,400
2,876
3,455
3,572
4,313
Three storeys
4,846
4,188
5,000
5,366
5,193
Four or more storeys
16,627
14,897
20,448
27,843
23,801
Total
26,873
21,961
28,903
36,781
33,307
Total
50,244
37,959
48,533
58,163
56,898
Source: Building Approvals, Australia (8731.0).


Residential building work done

In 2003-04 the value of total building work done increased by $2,898m (6.2%) to $49,982m, with both total new residential buildings and non-residential buildings increasing by $1,420m (5.2%) and $933m (6.2%) respectively (table 19.15).

19.15 VALUE OF BUILDING WORK DONE(a), By type of activity
New residential building
Houses
Other residential
buildings
Total(b)
Alterations and
additions to
residential buildings
Non-residential
building
Total
building(b)
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
1997-98
14,517
5,774
20,283
3,915
15,229
39,587
1998-99
15,416
6,653
22,067
4,152
15,980
42,331
1999-2000
18,501
7,408
25,893
4,702
15,590
46,061
2000-01
12,853
5,973
18,831
3,597
12,900
35,352
2001-02
16,161
7,038
23,202
4,278
13,582
41,065
2002-03
18,381
8,844
27,225
4,762
15,098
47,084
2003-04
19,016
9,630
28,645
5,306
16,031
49,982
(a) Chain volume measures, reference year is 2002-03.
(b) Chain volume measures for years other than 2002-03 and 2003-04 are not additive.

Source: Construction Work Done, Australia, Preliminary (8755.0).


Estimates of alterations and additions to residential buildings include all approved building activity carried out on existing residential buildings, valued at $10,000 or more. Although the value of alterations and additions to residential buildings is small compared with the value of new residential buildings, work done on alterations and additions to residential buildings was valued at $5,306m in 2003-04, an increase of 11% from 2002-03.


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