Dwelling approvals record rebound

The monthly growth of approved residential construction in Australia has bounced back following last month’s plummet according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data, surging upwards by 43.5 per cent. 

According to these latest figures, there were 18,675 total approved constructions over the month of February, a distinctive rise from January’s 13,015. 

Driving this figure, as seen both in January and in December, were apartments, town houses and units, which soared upwards by 78.3 per cent – well over the 16.5 per cent growth for houses over the same period. 

This momentum for approved dwellings was reportedly at its highest throughout NSW and Victoria, which respectively saw 48.8 per cent and 91 per cent increases in construction approvals. 

Approved houses in NSW and Victoria were part of this momentum, with the states each reporting growth of 27.2 per cent and 20.1 per cent. 

But while these figures reflect a positive step, the number of total dwellings approved remains 7.8 per cent down than this time last year, with approved house figures being 27.4 per cent lower than they were 12 months ago.

Apartments, town houses and units, however, have bucked this trend, standing at 25.5 per cent higher than February 2021. 

This overall decline in approvals reflected the findings found in the inquiry into housing affordability and supply in Australia, which highlighted a need to increase housing supply across the country.

Released earlier this year in February, the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation’s State of the Nation’s Housing 2021-22 report highlighted how supply impediments and growing lags and lead times across Australia are driving up prices. 

“Given it can take more than six years to get new housing supply to market in some years in some areas, pulling back on development decisions now will exacerbate affordability problems in future years when population growth is expected to return to more normal levels,” the report stated.

“If housing authorities actively slow or impede the flow of new housing supply, it can exacerbate upward pressure on rents and prices, something that should be avoided if improved housing affordability is a primary objective.”

According to the report’s authors, developers have said that land supply throughout Sydney is likely to be exhausted within 12 months, and that there is a lack of zoned land service with infrastructure, alongside investors building land banks and not releasing areas for development.

Figures released by PropTrack earlier this week have suggested the median value of a residential dwelling in Australia is $684,000, with dwellings in a capital city spiking up to $751,000.

Research published by Domain in late January also suggested that the median price for a house in an Australian capital city was then worth over $1 million with the year-on-year growth exceeding 25 per cent.

[Related: Dwelling build approvals collapse over January]