The ABS has released dwelling construction data for the March quarter, which recorded another sharp quarterly fall in commencements, driven by apartments.
According to the ABS, the number of dwelling commencements fell by a seasonally-adjusted 5.6% over the March quarter and were down by 25% over the year. Detached house commencements actually rose by 3.1% over the quarter but fell by 9% over the year, whereas unit commencements fell by 16.4% over the quarter and by 42% over the year:
As shown above, annual house commencements ran moderately above the long-term average in the March quarter, whereas apartment commencements continue to run strong despite crashing in Q4 2018 and Q1 2019.