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The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released its monthly building approvals data for January 2025 for detached houses and multi-units covering all states and territories.
“Moreover, January 2025 marked the second largest month for unit approvals in NSW seen since July 2017 - the height of the apartment boom,” added Mr Armitage.
The total number of units approved in the three months to January 2025 was 8,700 (in seasonally adjusted terms), which is 80.8 per cent higher compared to the previous quarterly period and 91.8 per cent higher compared to the same time in the previous year.
“It is great to see several of the underlying fundamentals for consistent supply of medium to high density housing starting to turn, which is a positive story for industry and households.
“Now we need to see the same level of recovery in detached approvals, particularly in greenfield areas.
“The total number of detached houses approved in the three months to January 2025 was 5,300, which is 3.5 per cent lower compared to the previous quarterly period and 9.5 per cent lower compared to the same time in the previous year.
“Unfortunately, detached home building has commenced the new year headed in the wrong direction.
“New South Wales’, and especially Sydney’s, significant shortfall in shovel ready land is becoming more dire by the day. We need to see the same level of urgency to approve apartment buildings in infill areas, applied to greenfield developments.
“We need to prioritise building more homes everywhere of every type if we are going to deliver the 377,000 homes we need to 2029,” concluded Mr Armitage.
“The NSW planning system has failed to deliver the number of homes we desperately need and we fully support removing the politics from housing, to address this growing crisis,” said Brad Armitage, HIA Executive Director NSW.
The Victorian Opposition’s announcement that it would remove stamp duty for first-home buyers spending up to $1 million on a new or existing home if elected at next year’s state election, is a positive step towards improving home affordability,” says Steven Wojtkiw, HIA Victoria Deputy Executive Director.
“New home sales rose by 16.5 per cent in the month of April 2025, to its highest level in 12 months,” stated HIA Economist, Maurice Tapang.
The number of homes commencing construction in Australia is set to increase over the next few years, driven by strong population growth, low unemployment, and falling interest rates. However, long-term structural issues continue to pose risks to housing affordability and national supply targets, according to the latest outlook from the Housing Industry Association.