Australian dwelling approvals continued to decline and were down 7.7% in June after May saw a small moment of winter brightness, when approvals jumped 20.5%. While all states saw approvals down year-ending June 2023, Western Australia has experienced the sharpest decline, seemingly having done something wrong to be punished with annual approvals halved since June 2021.
No state has been spared the pain of declining dwelling approvals, but by contrast to WA, South Australia has held up relatively well, and the smaller states are for the most part, still operating within the bounds of expectation.
Among the housing formats, there has been little joy over the last year. Approvals of Houses are 13.6% lower, 2+ Storey Townhouses are 22.1% lower and 4-8 Storey Flats are 12.7% lower. The sole format to be in growth right now is the 9+ Storey Flats, approvals of which are up 8.1% on the previous year.
