This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
BUILDING approvals plummeted by 4.9% in June, hitting an eight year low as the pandemic continued to take its toll on the construction industry.
According to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of private sector houses approved fell 5.7% in June, while private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 5.3%.
The value of total building approved rose 7.3% in June, in seasonally adjusted terms. The value of non-residential building rose 17.8% and residential building rose 0.1%.
Residential building was held up to a small degree by an 11.4% jump in the value of renovations and extensions.
Bill Becker, assistant director of construction statistics at the ABS, said falls were recorded in approval numbers across all states, and in both detached and attached dwellings.
Double-digit falls were recorded in New South Wales (14.8%), Western Australia (11.7%), Queensland (10.9%) and Tasmania (10.8%). South Australia and Victoria also saw declines, of 4.6% and 0.2%.
Approvals for private sector houses fell in Queensland (15.2%), New South Wales (11.3%), South Australia (2.3%) and Western Australia (0.8%), while Victoria rose slightly (0.9%), in seasonally adjusted terms.
