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Building approvals have bounced back following a 5.2 per cent month-on-month decline in June.
There were 19,298 building approvals issued in July, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
That marked a 4.2 increase on the previous month and a 13.4 per cent increase on the previous year.
Approvals for private sector houses totalled 9,322 – down 3.2 per cent over the month and 2.2 per cent over the year.
However, approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses reached 9,087, growing 6.1 per cent over the month and 25.2 per cent over the year.
The Property Council of Australia’s executive director of residential, Nick Proud, said maintaining a high level of new supply is important to improve housing affordability.
“The data last month suggested approvals may have peaked and the market was slowing down. These latest figures suggest a small rebound and provide reassurance for the supply of new housing – particularly in Sydney and Melbourne,” he said.
“We have seen fluctuations in a range of relevant data. Buildings approvals act as an early warning system – given the lag between approvals and completions, any drop-off will be magnified when it comes to handing over the keys to new homes.”
[Related: Residential construction bolstering Australian economy]
