Home building approvals see rebound
New home building approvals were up in November, but are still expected to decline in the year ahead.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show new dwelling approvals rebounded strongly in November from the previous month, but were still down for the year. Approvals rose 7% compared to October, but remained 4.8% lower than the year prior.
“November was a particularly good month on the multi-unit side of the market with approvals increasing by 17.3% during the month following a big fall in October,” HIA senior economist Shane Garrett said.
Garrett said detached house approvals fell 0.4% over the month, but that detached house approvals remained “considerably more stable” than multi-units.
Garrett said a record number of new dwelling commencements in 2016 ensured that building activity would remain high over much of 2017.
“However, we anticipate that new dwelling starts will decline over the next 12 months, with this likely to be felt on the ground towards the end of this year,” Garrett said.
Latest home loans headlines
Image: Shutterstock