New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that dwelling approvals rebounded 28.1% in August to be down 9.5% year-on-year.
The rebound was driven by unit approvals, which soared 99.1%, whereas house approvals rose 4.1%.
Over the year, houses approvals fell 14.4% whereas unit approvals fell 1.2%.
Commenting on the result, ABS head of construction statistics, Daniel Rossi, noted “the strong upward movement in August follows a weak July result, which had the lowest number of other residential dwellings approved since January 2012.”
The next chart, which presents the data in seasonally adjusted terms, plots the changes:
The trend changes are plotted below:
Annual dwelling approvals continue to fall sharply from peak, driven by house approvals:
Finally, trend approvals have plunged from peak across the major jurisdictions:
The big slowdown should arrive next year after the large number of HomeBuilder stimulus homes currently under construction are finished.
