The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released the Building Approvals data for the month of June. At the national level, the number of dwelling approvals fell by a seasonally adjusted -2.5%% to 13,336, driven predominantly by a -4.9% decrease in approvals for private sector units and apartments.
In the year to June 2012, dwelling approvals rose by a seasonally-adjusted 10.2%. The key figures are provided in the below table:
A chart showing the time series of seasonally-adjusted dwelling approvals at the national level is provided below, split-out by detached houses and units & apartments:
As you can see, dwelling approvals nationally for both houses and units & apartments were trending down since early 2010, but received a large boost from May when the number of unit & apartment approvals bounced.
The below chart shows the time-series of approvals at the state level. Due to the high volatility of the series, this is presented on a 3-month moving average (3MMA) basis:
Dwelling approvals remain subdued everywhere except for Victoria, which has experienced an epic construction boom over the past three years.
In light of ongoing sluggish new house sales, there’s not a lot of joy in this release for Australia’s home builders. By contrast, apartment builders like Meriton are likely to benefit from the recent uptick in apartment approvals, along with the recent jump in apartment sales.
Twitter: Leith van Onselen. Leith is the Chief Economist of Macro Investor, Australia’s independent investment newsletter covering trades, stocks, property and yield. Click for a free 21 day trial.
