The Property Council of Australia has said a drop in apartment approvals is another reminder of the need to tackle the nation's outdated planning systems.
The total number of homes approved fell 6.4 per cent in October to 15,832, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
In original terms, approved apartments fell 39.2 per cent (to 3,397 dwellings), following a rise in September (5,589 dwellings).
This is 13.8 per cent lower than the average of the past twelve months.
Property Council Group Executive Policy and Advocacy Matthew Kandelaars said after a rise in September, it is disappointing to see apartment approvals go backwards again.
"Apartment approvals are volatile, but seeing a fall after some positive figures in September is frustrating.
"We know we can lift our run rate. In October 2015, we approved 9,212 apartments – that should be the benchmark we set for ourselves.
"While ambitious, this is an achievable target, and it should be our goal heading into the new year.
"Without approving large-scale apartment projects in higher numbers, our housing targets just get that much harder to reach.
"And we are seeing the impact of this. Today's data shows house prices rose in every state and territory in the September quarter. Queensland now joins New South Wales in having its average home price pass $1 million.
"Driven by the presence of a clear national housing target, we've seen encouraging progress in recent months. The announcement today that almost 14,000 homes have been given the green light, thanks to the Australian Government's housing approval strike team cutting through environmental planning delays, shows the impact.
"This highlights the results that can come from a focused approach to environmental and planning approvals and stands as a solid example of how to make our processes more efficient.
"But today's data shows complex and rigid planning systems continue to hold us back. We need wholesale reform and an unfailing focus on structural improvements to approvals processes.
"Reform of Victoria's planning system is within reach this week, and the Victorian Parliament needs to grasp that opportunity with both hands.
"Addressing the housing crisis means building more homes and the best way to do that is at scale - apartments to purchase or to rent, retirement villages, land lease communities and purpose-built student accommodation.
"For these projects especially, we also need to look past planning systems, which are often just the first bottleneck in getting projects out of the ground. Soaring costs, labour shortages, low productivity and punitive state taxes mean even getting past the approvals hurdle is sometimes not enough.
"Likewise, counting all housing types, such as student accommodation, co-living spaces and land lease communities toward the 1.2 million homes target will help sharpen our approach.
"We all have the ambition to boost housing supply. So, let's make 2026 the year of action."
