Enter your email and password to access secured content, members only resources and discount prices.
Did you become a member online? If not, you will need to activate your account to login.
If you are having problems logging in, please call HIA helpdesk on 1300 650 620 during business hours.
If you are having problems logging in, please call HIA helpdesk on 1300 650 620 during business hours.
Enables quick and easy registration for future events or learning and grants access to expert advice and valuable resources.
Enter your details below and create a login
The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released its monthly building approvals data for April 2025 for detached houses and multi-units covering all states and territories.
“Detached house approvals have been picking up modestly in recent months, while multi-unit approvals have been volatile and at very low levels,” added Mr Tapang.
“In the three months to April 2025, there were 28,030 detached homes approved for construction, which is 3.0 per cent higher compared to the same period in the previous year.
“The rise in the volume of detached house approvals is consistent with other leading indicators of activity, with new home sales in the month of April increasing strongly.
“This increased volume of house approvals also came before the second interest rate cut in May this year, which indicates other strong demand factors are also driving growth in approvals.
“Australia’s unemployment rate remains at historically low levels, while real wages have been increasing. Home buyers appear to be increasingly returning to market, assisted by expectations of interest rate cuts.
“Multi-unit approvals fell by 18.9 per cent in the month of April to 5,140, leaving the total number of units approved in the last 12 months to just under 70,000 still sitting at just under half those levels a decade ago.
“You cannot live in an approval, and this is most certainly true for multi-unit approvals. These projects need to be sold on in order to get to commencement and be delivered to market.
“Unfortunately, punitive taxes on foreign capital and its consequential withdrawal from the market have kept this volume down.
“In order to see a sufficient rise in home building and rebalance housing supply and demand, governments of all levels need to help lower the cost of a new home and stop taxing those who build them,” concluded Mr Tapang.
Detached house approvals in the three months to April 2025, in seasonally adjusted terms, increased in South Australia the most, up by 17.3 per cent compared to the previous year. This was followed by Western Australia (+14.3 per cent), Queensland (+11.1 per cent), Tasmania (+4.5 per cent) and New South Wales (+1.3 per cent). In original terms, detached approvals in the Australian Capital Territory rose by 33.6 per cent over the same period, and in Northern Territory up by 21.0 per cent off very low levels. Victoria was the only jurisdiction to record a decline, down by 10.9 per cent compared to the previous year.
“Home building materials have continued to experience only modest cost increases, up by 1.6 per cent in the 2024/25 financial year,” stated HIA Senior Economist, Maurice Tapang.
“Today’s interim report from the Productivity Commission overwhelmingly backs what HIA has long been saying - that the regulatory burden on businesses is getting worse in this country and there is need for a major overhaul on the approach to regulation,” said HIA Managing Director, Jocelyn Martin.
“The Housing Industry Association (HIA) welcomes the release of the Queensland Productivity Commission’s interim report into construction productivity It is a significant and necessary step toward overcoming the housing supply challenges facing Queensland,” said Michael Roberts, HIA Executive Director Queensland.
“New home building approvals in the 2024/25 financial year were up by 13.9 per cent compared to their 2023/24 trough,” stated HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt.