The number of dwellings approved in Australia rose in March 2018 in trend terms, with a 0.2 per cent rise, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
"The strength in the total dwellings series is being driven by approvals for private sector houses, which have now risen for 13 consecutive months," said Justin Lokhorst, Director of Construction Statistics at the ABS. "Private sector house approvals are now at their highest level since 2003, in trend terms."
Among the states and territories, the biggest trend increase in dwelling approvals in March was in the Australian Capital Territory (28.0 per cent), followed by the Northern Territory (5.3 per cent) and Queensland (2.3 per cent).
There were falls in trend terms in Western Australia (6.7 per cent), Tasmania (4.8 per cent), Victoria (0.5 per cent), New South Wales (0.2 per cent) and South Australia (0.1 per cent).
In trend terms, approvals for private sector houses rose 0.8 per cent in March. Private sector house approvals rose in Victoria (1.8 per cent) and Queensland (1.5 per cent), but fell in Western Australia (2.1 per cent) and New South Wales (0.2 per cent). Private house approvals were flat in South Australia.
In seasonally adjusted terms, total dwellings rose by 2.6 per cent in March, driven by a 6.1 per cent increase in private sector dwellings excluding houses. Private sector houses rose 1.1 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.
The value of total building approved fell 0.6 per cent in March, in trend terms, and has fallen for six months. The value of residential building rose 0.4 per cent while non-residential building fell 2.5 per cent.
