Evidence that Australia’s residential dwelling sector is expanding at a solid rate is all around our cities and suburbs. Whether its new apartment developments or free-standing suburban houses, growth represented by dwelling approvals has been significant over the last year.
In fact, for the year to the end of July 2014, Australia’s dwelling approvals rose a very substantial 18.4% compared with the year to the end of July 2013.
Total dwelling approvals were 194,562, with all States (but neither Territory) exhibiting growth. The biggest lift was in the nation’s most populous state, New South Wales, which saw dwelling approvals rise 27.1% to 52,292 separate approvals.
Western Australian approvals increased 19.4% for the year to the end of July, reaching 30,745, while Queensland saw growth that rivaled New South Wales, reaching 37,744 dwelling approvals after growing at 25.3% for the same year. Growth in South Australia was marginally less at 22.2%. Tasmania recorded growth of 18.5%.
Victoria remained the state in which the largest number of total approvals was recorded, up a more than solid 9.7% to 54,325 total dwelling approvals.
A key element of the FWPA data dashboard is that it allows users to drill further into the state data to examine the approvals on a ‘type of dwelling’ basis.
Given the (some would say) long overdue increase in dwelling approvals achieved in New South Wales over the year to the end of July 2014, that state is worth examining. Its approvals, by type, over each of the last two years, is shown in the chart below.
To go straight to this page on the data dashboard, just click here and hit the link to NSW
On a year on year basis, NSW has seen a large lift in both free-standing house approvals and also, the much discussed, multi-storey apartment blocks.
Compared with the prior year, 20.2% more houses were approved to the end of July 2014, with 22,491 total dwellings approved. That very large increase was eclipsed by the 56.4% in approvals of dwellings in buildings that are four or more storeys.
Although the approvals do not always translate to dwellings being built, with 20,823 of these dwellings being approved, it will not take much more growth for them to become the major type of dwelling in New South Wales.
Perhaps underscoring the trend to bigger apartment blocks, over the same period, approvals of semi-detached single storey units and flats declined by 12.7%, flats or units in a one or two storey block by 7.3% and flats or units in a three storey block by 1.8%.
To drill into the details of other states, click here and go straight to the dashboard.
