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“Narrowly behind December, the strong result in January was the second largest number of detached approvals in any month since the series began in 1983.
“Detached house approvals in the three months to January 2021 are 44.5 per cent higher than the same time last year.
“Building approvals data lags behind other leading indicators including new home sales and housing finance data.
“We saw a spike in new home sales in December arising from HomeBuilder. These projects will continue to progress through the administrative process to gain building approval in the coming months.
“With home buyers able to access the reduced HomeBuilder grant until the end of March we expect sales and approvals to remain elevated for several more months.
“The majority of homes approved in January are likely to already have now commenced work on site.
The strong pipeline of work will ensure ongoing employment in the sector through 2021 and into 2022.
“There is a significant divergence in the conditions facing detached builders versus apartment builders.
“Multi-unit approvals fell by 5.7 per cent in the three months to January 2021 compared to the preceding quarter and are 15.6 per cent lower than the same time last year.
“Multi-unit projects that are gaining approval at this time are likely to have commenced the planning and building approval process before COVID.
“The apartment market is likely to be constrained until overseas migration returns,” concluded Ms Lillicrap.
In seasonally adjusted terms, the number of detached dwelling approvals during the three months to January 2021 compared to the same time last year increased in all jurisdictions
Multi-unit approvals declined in all jurisdictions except for Western Australia (+65.2 per cent) and Queensland (+38.3 per cent).
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released building approvals data for August 2026.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has welcomed the release of BuildSkills Australia's new report examining the workforce and skills implications of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), saying the findings confirm that innovation in home building can be supported through evolution of existing skills and training pathways rather than wholesale workforce disruption.
“Today's increase in interest rates will further reduce the number of new homes Australia builds at the time when increased supply is the only sustainable solution to the affordability challenge,” stated HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has welcomed the Cook Government's support for the recommissioning of the Austral Brickworks facility at Cardup, describing the decision as an important step towards improving building material supply and supporting the delivery of homes and infrastructure across Western Australia.