Rise in apartment approvals offsets house fall in October

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Released
2/12/2024
Source
Building Approvals, Australia, October 2024

The total number of dwellings approved rose 4.2 per cent in October to 15,498, following a 5.8 per cent increase in September, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, said: "The overall rise this month was driven by an increase in apartment developments approved in New South Wales and Victoria, with private dwellings excluding houses rising 24.8 per cent.

"Meanwhile, private sector house approvals fell by 5.2 per cent in October, after reaching a two-year high in September."

Private house approvals down across most states

Private sector house approvals fell 5.2 per cent, to 9,191 dwellings, following a 4.1 per cent rise in September. Despite the fall, private sector houses remain 2.4 per cent higher than a year ago.

South Australia was the only state to see growth in October, with a 1.0 per cent rise. The 905 private sector houses approved was the highest result for South Australia since August 2021. 

Private dwellings excluding houses see strong rise

Private sector dwellings excluding houses rose 24.8 per cent, to 5,859 dwellings, which was 7.1 per cent higher than a year ago. 

The October result was driven by a rise in approvals for high-rise apartments, primarily in New South Wales and Victoria. In nine or more storey blocks, 2,782 apartments were approved in October, compared to 1,815 in September (in original terms). This was the most high-rise apartments approved since January this year.

(a) Seasonally adjusted estimates are not published for NT and ACT for all dwelling types. Private sector houses are not published for Tasmania.

Non-residential approvals drive fall in value

The value of total building approved fell 3.7 per cent ($13.21 billion), following a 1.2 per cent rise in September. 

The value of approved non-residential building dropped 13.4 per cent ($4.89 billion), following a 3.7 per cent September rise.

Total residential building value rose 3.2 per cent ($8.33 billion), made up of a 4.4 per cent rise in the value of new residential building approved ($7.21 billion) and a 4.2 per cent fall in alterations and additions ($1.12 billion), in seasonally adjusted terms.

Further information is available in Building Approvals, Australia.

Media notes

  • "Private sector dwellings excluding houses" includes semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses and apartments.
  • When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
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