The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has released dwelling approvals data for the month of January. At the national level, the number of dwelling approvals rose by a seasonally adjusted 7.9% to 19,282. The overall surge was driven by the volatile unit and apartment segment, which jumped by 19.6% in January. By contrast, the more stable house approvals segment was relatively flat, rising by just 0.4% over the month.
The result beat analysts’ expectations, who had expected a 2% fall in approvals over the month.