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{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change locationTasmanian building approvals pick up but construction starts lag well behind decade average
Tasmanian building approvals pick up but construction starts lag well behind decade average
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This brought the total number of new homes approved in the 12 months to May 2026 to 2,683, which is 14.7 per cent higher compared to the previous year.
Multi-unit approvals have more than doubled (+113.0 per cent) while detached house approvals increased by 9.6 per cent in the 12 months to May 2026.
However, the Housing Industry Association says the approvals data needs to continue to pick up in order to flow through to an increase in construction activity.
HIA Executive Director for Tasmania, Benjamin Price, said the figures point to a gap between approvals and actual building activity that is worth watching closely.
“The approvals numbers for this month are positive, but nowhere near what Tasmania needs to reach its housing targets. There is clearly ongoing demand for shovel ready land and homes ready to move into in Tasmania,” Mr Price said.
“But approvals aren’t homes. Until that pipeline shows up in commencements data and reach completion for Tasmanians to move into, we can’t say the supply problem is solved.
“What we’re watching now is whether this approvals bump translates into actual construction over the next couple of quarters, or whether it stalls out the way we’ve seen happen before.”
Mr Price said HIA would continue to track the data closely across approvals, finance and starts to assess whether Tasmania’s housing supply pipeline is genuinely improving.
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