Building approvals: Apartments galore!

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The ABS has released building approvals for September and it’s a healthy bounce month on month up 7.8% against expectations of 1%, also the prior month was revised up to 8.8%:

As you can see, approvals for houses rose 1.3%, contradicting yesterday’s HIA numbers, but were outstripped by apartments which soared again. Here are the state by state trend numbers from the ABS:

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NEW SOUTH WALES

The trend estimate for total number of dwelling units approved in New South Wales fell 1.5% in September after rising for 7 months. The trend estimate for the number of private sector houses rose 0.4% in September and has risen for 7 months.

VICTORIA

The trend estimate for total number of dwelling units approved in Victoria rose 1.2% in September and has risen for 9 months. The trend estimate for the number of private sector houses rose 0.8% in September and has risen for 6 months.

QUEENSLAND

The trend estimate for total number of dwelling units approved in Queensland was flat in September following a fall of 0.1% in the previous month. The trend estimate for the number of private sector houses fell 0.5% in September and has fallen for 3 months.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The trend estimate for total number of dwelling units approved in South Australia rose 0.2% in September after falling for 16 months. The trend estimate for the number of private sector houses rose 0.9% in September and has risen for 3 months.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The trend estimate for total number of dwelling units approved in Western Australia rose 4.3% in September and has risen for 5 months. The trend estimate for the number of private sector houses rose 3.0% in September and has risen for 3 months.

Basically, it’s WA’s supply shortage beginning to catch and Melbourne’s apartment boom that just won’t die.

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.