Dwelling construction was weak headed into COVID

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The ABS has released dwelling construction data for the March quarter, which recorded a small rebound in dwelling commencements but a fall in completions.

According to the ABS, the number of dwelling commencements rose by a seasonally-adjusted 3.8% over the March quarter, but fell by 1.6% over the year. Detached house commencements rose by 1.3% over the quarter but fell by 10.4% over the year, whereas unit commencements rose by 7.6% over the quarter and by 14.1% over the year:

As shown in the next chart, annual house commencements ran slightly below long-term average levels in the March quarter, whereas apartment commencements continue to run above average levels despite crashing recently:

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.