Dwelling approvals slide to an eight-year low in June

The number of dwellings approved fell 4.9 per cent in June, in seasonally adjusted terms, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

"The impact of COVID-19 was evident on dwelling approvals in June," said Bill Becker, Assistant Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS. "Falls were recorded in all states, and across both detached and attached dwellings."

In seasonally adjusted terms, private sector houses fell 5.7 per cent in June, while private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 5.3 per cent.

Double-digit falls were recorded in New South Wales (14.8 per cent), Western Australia (11.7 per cent), Queensland (10.9 per cent) and Tasmania (10.8 per cent), while South Australia (4.6 per cent) and Victoria (0.2 per cent) also declined.

Approvals for private sector houses fell in Queensland (15.2 per cent), New South Wales (11.3 per cent), South Australia (2.3 per cent) and Western Australia (0.8 per cent), while Victoria rose slightly (0.9 per cent), in seasonally adjusted terms.

The value of total building approved rose 7.3 per cent in June, in seasonally adjusted terms. The value of non-residential building rose 17.8 per cent, while residential building rose 0.1 per cent. The latter was buoyed by an 11.4 per cent increase in the value of alterations and additions to residential building.

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia (cat no. 8731.0).