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Building approvals rise in November quarter
With the price of property continuing to recover from its low in May, the construction sector is following, with approvals for new buildings increasing over the November quarter, according to national figures.
Building approvals rise in November quarter
With the price of property continuing to recover from its low in May, the construction sector is following, with approvals for new buildings increasing over the November quarter, according to national figures.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics noted the seasonally adjusted estimates for total dwelling approvals rose 11.8 per cent in November, driven by a 22.6 per cent increase in private dwelling excluding houses.
The private housing sector also rose by 6.1 per cent.
“The rise was driven by approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses, which increased by 2.9 per cent in November,” said Daniel Rossi, director of construction statistics at the ABS.
“However, private sector houses fell by 0.3 per cent,” the economist added.
The value of total buildings approved fell 2.6 per cent in November, in trend terms, and has fallen for five months.
The value of residential buildings fell 0.7 per cent, while non-residential buildings fell by 5.0 per cent.
According to Shane Garrett, Master Builders Australia’s chief economist, “The past year has also seen three interest rate reductions from the RBA, something which has made it more attractive for people to participate in the housing market.
“Last week saw the commencement of the federal government’s First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, a program which is opening the market up to thousands of first home buyers, in addition to providing more fuel for the market recovery,” he said.
Across the states and territories, dwelling approvals rose in South Australia (4.2 per cent), NSW (1.6 per cent), Victoria (0.7 per cent) and the ACT (0.3 per cent). Decreases were recorded in the Northern Territory (2.6 per cent), Western Australia (1.9 per cent) and Queensland (0.4 per cent), while Tasmania was flat, in trend terms, the ABS noted.
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