Today's November quarter building approval numbers from the ABS reflect the latest string of economic pressures faced by the building and construction industry says Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn.
"The total number of approvals fell by 9.0 per cent during November, and are now 15.1 per cent lower than a year ago," said Ms Wawn.
"The latest building approvals data is concerning, and it's clear that we are facing significant challenges which need to be addressed head-on if we want to weather the storm and see a sustainable recovery.
"For detached houses, there was a 2.5 per cent decline during the month and a 22.7 per cent drop for approvals of high density homes.
"There has been signs that detached house building approvals had stabilised but recent months indicate that they are moving downwards.
"Higher density home building approvals, which are particularly sensitive to interest rate movements, had shown momentum during 2021 but this is now on the way down.
"A number of factors are making it difficult for new home building, including rising interest rates coupled with labour and material shortages.
"We must not be complacent in addressing some of the systemic challenges on the supply-side which continue to ripple through the economy.
"Builders continue to advocate for an increase to the migration cap and changes to the migration system that make Australia a more attractive place to live and work, and complementing this with improvements to domestic vocational education and training," said Ms Wawn.
