Building approvals stay down in January
Approvals in the nation's capital take a massive dive.
The total number of national dwelling approvals fell 2.1% in January 2017, the eighth straight month of decline, according to the latest data.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports building approvals decreased in the ACT (-19.4%), Queensland (-6.8%), New South Wales (-4.8%), Northern Territory (-1.7%) and Western Australia (-0.3%).
Approvals increased slightly in Tasmania (3%), Victoria (2.9%) and South Australia (1.1%) during January.
The continued downturn in dwelling approvals mirrored a drop in approvals for private sector houses, with the ABS reporting figures were down 1.2% month-on-month in January.
For the sixth consecutive month, the value of total buildings approved fell, down 2.9% in January.
Residential building values fell 0.9% in January, while non-residential values fell 6.8% month-on-month.
Property prices keep rising in Australia’s capitals, which is great for investors, bad for first home buyers.
A thought bubble doing the rounds right now suggests that one way to deal with the growing housing affordability problem in Australia's major cities would be to eliminate the requirement for a deposit.
Buying a home or investment property? It pays to compare and research your finance options.
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