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{{propApi.successMessage}} {{region}} Change locationBuilding approvals slow in July
Building approvals slow in July
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The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released its monthly building approvals data for July 2026 for detached houses and multi-units covering all states and territories.
“Despite these monthly declines, approvals in the last three months remain materially higher than a year earlier (+8.3 per cent), led by houses (+12.4 per cent), with multi-units up by 2.5 per cent,” added Mr Devitt.
“There are long lags between changes in market conditions, building approvals and construction activity.
“New home building activity had good momentum heading into 2026, on the back of strong population growth, low unemployment and ongoing shortages of housing across the country.
“This year, the Australian government has increased taxes on housing investors, while restricting the ability of SMSFs to invest in housing.
“Combined with rising interest rates, global conflict and surging fuel costs, this has interrupted an expansion in home building that was already underway.
“The effect is already visible in a number of leading indicators across the economy.
“As expected, the increase in taxes on investors in the established market will have a short-term adverse impact on established home prices, further reduce the supply of new homes, and lead to a worsening in affordability.
“Lending in the established housing market has tumbled, with loans to investors, in particular, dropping almost 20 per cent in the first half the year. Dwelling prices are declining across the country, especially in Melbourne and Sydney.
“This is predictably filtering into the new construction pipeline, with new home sales declining for the three consecutive months to July.
“This adverse shock to new housing supply is yet to emerge in building approvals data.
“Increasing the supply of housing and sustainably improving affordability requires the cost of construction to be reduced,” concluded Mr Devitt.
In seasonally adjusted terms, Tasmania saw the largest increase in building approvals in the three months to July compared to the same period a year earlier, to be 44.9 per cent higher. This was followed by Queensland (+24.0 per cent), Western Australia (+15.3 per cent), South Australia (+9.5 per cent) and Victoria (+2.8 per cent), while New South Wales was down by 1.3 per cent. In original terms, building approvals increased by 60.8 per cent in the Northern Territory, while declining by 15.6 per cent in the Australian Capital Territory.
Monthly Building Approvals - Australia
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