The total number of dwellings approved fell 3.6 per cent in July to 17,687, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, said, "Approvals for private sector houses fell 4.2 per cent in July, following a 0.8 per cent rise in June.
"Private other dwelling approvals fell 0.4 per cent, but remain at elevated levels with over 7,000 dwellings approved in this series for the second month in a row."
| Total dwellings | Private sector houses | Private sector dwellings excluding houses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul-11 | 13,089 | 7,680 | 4,962 |
| Aug-11 | 14,364 | 7,762 | 6,164 |
| Sep-11 | 12,601 | 7,786 | 4,566 |
| Oct-11 | 11,662 | 7,261 | 4,199 |
| Nov-11 | 11,899 | 7,610 | 4,077 |
| Dec-11 | 11,954 | 7,697 | 4,125 |
| Jan-12 | 10,858 | 7,818 | 2,818 |
| Feb-12 | 11,534 | 7,344 | 4,033 |
| Mar-12 | 11,791 | 7,513 | 4,096 |
| Apr-12 | 10,924 | 6,799 | 4,026 |
| May-12 | 13,967 | 7,286 | 6,576 |
| Jun-12 | 14,833 | 7,302 | 7,342 |
| Jul-12 | 11,809 | 7,695 | 3,872 |
| Aug-12 | 13,027 | 7,694 | 5,189 |
| Sep-12 | 15,751 | 7,920 | 7,643 |
| Oct-12 | 14,600 | 7,825 | 6,298 |
| Nov-12 | 14,249 | 7,721 | 6,281 |
| Dec-12 | 14,371 | 7,749 | 6,408 |
| Jan-13 | 12,047 | 7,802 | 4,043 |
| Feb-13 | 13,550 | 7,776 | 5,118 |
| Mar-13 | 13,337 | 7,976 | 5,121 |
| Apr-13 | 14,920 | 8,142 | 6,517 |
| May-13 | 14,333 | 8,368 | 5,549 |
| Jun-13 | 13,624 | 8,266 | 5,021 |
| Jul-13 | 15,052 | 8,540 | 6,263 |
| Aug-13 | 14,746 | 8,415 | 6,015 |
| Sep-13 | 19,041 | 8,670 | 10,055 |
| Oct-13 | 17,866 | 8,709 | 8,895 |
| Nov-13 | 17,698 | 9,263 | 8,119 |
| Dec-13 | 17,360 | 9,078 | 8,026 |
| Jan-14 | 16,842 | 10,205 | 6,285 |
| Feb-14 | 16,660 | 9,751 | 6,689 |
| Mar-14 | 16,009 | 9,362 | 6,372 |
| Apr-14 | 16,199 | 9,729 | 6,135 |
| May-14 | 16,975 | 9,781 | 6,968 |
| Jun-14 | 16,577 | 9,671 | 6,628 |
| Jul-14 | 17,031 | 9,756 | 7,053 |
| Aug-14 | 18,310 | 9,721 | 8,298 |
| Sep-14 | 16,729 | 9,557 | 6,931 |
| Oct-14 | 18,307 | 9,863 | 8,249 |
| Nov-14 | 20,556 | 9,834 | 10,472 |
| Dec-14 | 20,383 | 9,724 | 10,227 |
| Jan-15 | 19,128 | 9,930 | 8,715 |
| Feb-15 | 19,522 | 9,717 | 9,463 |
| Mar-15 | 20,698 | 9,635 | 10,735 |
| Apr-15 | 19,195 | 9,648 | 9,224 |
| May-15 | 21,123 | 9,560 | 11,263 |
| Jun-15 | 19,285 | 9,936 | 9,111 |
| Jul-15 | 19,867 | 9,738 | 9,264 |
| Aug-15 | 19,112 | 10,096 | 8,827 |
| Sep-15 | 20,543 | 9,814 | 10,422 |
| Oct-15 | 22,044 | 9,743 | 12,042 |
| Nov-15 | 19,221 | 9,669 | 9,470 |
| Dec-15 | 20,212 | 10,234 | 9,808 |
| Jan-16 | 17,823 | 9,836 | 7,680 |
| Feb-16 | 19,770 | 9,855 | 9,604 |
| Mar-16 | 20,363 | 10,206 | 9,946 |
| Apr-16 | 21,180 | 10,005 | 10,974 |
| May-16 | 20,404 | 10,018 | 10,073 |
| Jun-16 | 18,380 | 9,647 | 8,570 |
| Jul-16 | 21,736 | 9,608 | 11,911 |
| Aug-16 | 21,405 | 9,727 | 11,191 |
| Sep-16 | 19,580 | 9,777 | 9,635 |
| Oct-16 | 16,807 | 9,576 | 6,908 |
| Nov-16 | 18,610 | 9,642 | 8,656 |
| Dec-16 | 18,377 | 9,381 | 8,846 |
| Jan-17 | 16,379 | 9,170 | 6,985 |
| Feb-17 | 19,073 | 9,442 | 9,412 |
| Mar-17 | 16,370 | 9,310 | 6,821 |
| Apr-17 | 18,565 | 9,448 | 8,885 |
| May-17 | 17,072 | 9,808 | 7,106 |
| Jun-17 | 18,507 | 9,956 | 8,348 |
| Jul-17 | 19,535 | 10,227 | 9,000 |
| Aug-17 | 18,937 | 10,219 | 8,514 |
| Sep-17 | 20,011 | 10,128 | 9,633 |
| Oct-17 | 19,904 | 10,150 | 9,413 |
| Nov-17 | 23,233 | 10,048 | 13,017 |
| Dec-17 | 17,795 | 10,202 | 7,417 |
| Jan-18 | 18,408 | 9,865 | 8,251 |
| Feb-18 | 19,331 | 10,273 | 8,766 |
| Mar-18 | 19,684 | 10,487 | 9,028 |
| Apr-18 | 18,767 | 10,585 | 7,987 |
| May-18 | 17,971 | 9,877 | 7,941 |
| Jun-18 | 19,285 | 10,283 | 8,726 |
| Jul-18 | 18,894 | 10,113 | 8,561 |
| Aug-18 | 16,291 | 9,976 | 6,094 |
| Sep-18 | 16,993 | 9,610 | 7,048 |
| Oct-18 | 17,199 | 10,076 | 6,946 |
| Nov-18 | 15,321 | 9,341 | 5,845 |
| Dec-18 | 14,132 | 9,101 | 4,893 |
| Jan-19 | 13,888 | 9,244 | 4,403 |
| Feb-19 | 16,887 | 8,927 | 7,848 |
| Mar-19 | 15,116 | 8,584 | 6,293 |
| Apr-19 | 14,721 | 8,567 | 6,029 |
| May-19 | 14,612 | 8,769 | 5,611 |
| Jun-19 | 14,650 | 8,899 | 5,511 |
| Jul-19 | 13,589 | 8,616 | 4,757 |
| Aug-19 | 13,735 | 8,532 | 5,082 |
| Sep-19 | 14,930 | 8,780 | 6,001 |
| Oct-19 | 14,076 | 8,181 | 5,682 |
| Nov-19 | 15,161 | 8,509 | 6,470 |
| Dec-19 | 15,825 | 8,654 | 6,987 |
| Jan-20 | 12,762 | 8,570 | 4,047 |
| Feb-20 | 16,564 | 8,724 | 7,690 |
| Mar-20 | 15,273 | 8,642 | 6,406 |
| Apr-20 | 15,271 | 8,899 | 6,003 |
| May-20 | 13,611 | 8,816 | 4,503 |
| Jun-20 | 12,780 | 8,441 | 3,982 |
| Jul-20 | 15,218 | 9,137 | 5,826 |
| Aug-20 | 14,524 | 9,667 | 4,631 |
| Sep-20 | 16,427 | 10,546 | 5,331 |
| Oct-20 | 17,514 | 11,070 | 6,074 |
| Nov-20 | 18,014 | 11,534 | 6,084 |
| Dec-20 | 18,664 | 13,158 | 5,272 |
| Jan-21 | 16,456 | 12,021 | 4,030 |
| Feb-21 | 20,209 | 13,920 | 5,889 |
| Mar-21 | 22,812 | 14,305 | 8,043 |
| Apr-21 | 20,874 | 13,549 | 7,079 |
| May-21 | 21,250 | 13,749 | 7,238 |
| Jun-21 | 19,347 | 12,568 | 6,405 |
| Jul-21 | 18,810 | 12,147 | 6,422 |
| Aug-21 | 19,200 | 12,085 | 6,822 |
| Sep-21 | 19,042 | 10,741 | 8,080 |
| Oct-21 | 16,404 | 10,360 | 5,479 |
| Nov-21 | 16,542 | 10,402 | 5,917 |
| Dec-21 | 17,003 | 10,129 | 6,610 |
| Jan-22 | 13,575 | 9,668 | 3,681 |
| Feb-22 | 18,627 | 9,746 | 7,919 |
| Mar-22 | 14,923 | 9,708 | 4,879 |
| Apr-22 | 16,128 | 9,697 | 6,282 |
| May-22 | 16,718 | 9,572 | 6,828 |
| Jun-22 | 16,192 | 9,724 | 6,104 |
| Jul-22 | 14,298 | 9,574 | 4,533 |
| Aug-22 | 17,142 | 10,188 | 6,709 |
| Sep-22 | 17,091 | 9,310 | 7,614 |
| Oct-22 | 15,628 | 9,240 | 5,933 |
| Nov-22 | 15,132 | 8,970 | 5,823 |
| Dec-22 | 16,997 | 8,778 | 8,066 |
| Jan-23 | 12,337 | 8,557 | 3,654 |
| Feb-23 | 13,578 | 8,605 | 4,727 |
| Mar-23 | 13,302 | 8,366 | 4,618 |
| Apr-23 | 13,279 | 8,193 | 4,858 |
| May-23 | 15,771 | 8,156 | 7,402 |
| Jun-23 | 13,633 | 8,115 | 5,023 |
| Jul-23 | 12,931 | 8,093 | 4,629 |
| Aug-23 | 13,403 | 8,795 | 4,414 |
| Sep-23 | 14,128 | 8,321 | 5,579 |
| Oct-23 | 14,517 | 8,772 | 5,558 |
| Nov-23 | 14,739 | 8,715 | 5,831 |
| Dec-23 | 13,892 | 8,917 | 4,471 |
| Jan-24 | 13,155 | 8,520 | 4,409 |
| Feb-24 | 13,110 | 8,671 | 4,152 |
| Mar-24 | 13,530 | 9,171 | 4,188 |
| Apr-24 | 13,789 | 8,850 | 4,654 |
| May-24 | 14,754 | 9,084 | 5,506 |
| Jun-24 | 13,182 | 9,156 | 3,811 |
| Jul-24 | 15,134 | 9,499 | 5,371 |
| Aug-24 | 14,502 | 9,511 | 4,647 |
| Sep-24 | 15,270 | 9,662 | 4,957 |
| Oct-24 | 16,288 | 9,215 | 6,552 |
| Nov-24 | 15,545 | 9,206 | 5,610 |
| Dec-24 | 15,537 | 8,969 | 6,288 |
| Jan-25 | 15,581 | 9,173 | 6,106 |
| Feb-25 | 16,768 | 9,241 | 7,304 |
| Mar-25 | 15,683 | 9,082 | 6,220 |
| Apr-25 | 15,445 | 9,417 | 5,604 |
| May-25 | 16,165 | 9,266 | 6,643 |
| Jun-25 | 16,760 | 9,114 | 7,246 |
| Jul-25 | 16,226 | 9,620 | 5,937 |
| Aug-25 | 15,403 | 9,267 | 5,792 |
| Sep-25 | 18,099 | 9,530 | 8,256 |
| Oct-25 | 16,374 | 9,490 | 6,559 |
| Nov-25 | 18,920 | 9,620 | 8,838 |
| Dec-25 | 15,962 | 9,827 | 5,910 |
| Jan-26 | 13,813 | 10,043 | 3,398 |
| Feb-26 | 19,896 | 10,273 | 9,339 |
| Mar-26 | 17,213 | 10,329 | 6,394 |
| Apr-26 | 17,425 | 10,320 | 6,839 |
| May-26 | 17,169 | 10,561 | 6,174 |
| Jun-26 | 18,351 | 10,644 | 7,146 |
| Jul-26 | 17,687 | 10,199 | 7,119 |
Private sector houses fall
Private sector houses fell across all states, to 10,199 dwellings approved in July.
"While private sector houses were down 4.2 per cent, this came off June which had the most approved since September 2021. In year-on-year terms, the result is 6.0 per cent higher than July 2025," Mr Rossi said.
South Australia had the largest drop in private sector house approvals, down 10.7 per cent, following a strong result in June.
Lower apartment approvals drive fall in dwellings excluding houses
Private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 0.4 per cent to 7,119 dwellings in July. The result is 19.9 per cent higher than the July 2025 figure.
In original terms, apartment approvals fell 10.1 per cent to 4,344 dwellings, 6.8 per cent higher than the average from the past 12 months (4,069 dwellings).
| Private sector houses | Total dwelling units approved | |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 2,178 | 4,586 |
| Victoria | 2,939 | 4,642 |
| Queensland | 2,239 | 4,200 |
| South Australia | 817 | 1,376 |
| Western Australia | 1,688 | 2,270 |
(a) Seasonally adjusted estimates are not published for NT and ACT for all dwelling types. Private sector houses are not published for Tasmania.
Non-residential approvals drive value rise
The value of total building approved rose 3.3 per cent to $21.19 billion, after a 1.5 per cent fall in June.
Approved non-residential building rose 14.4 per cent (to $9.93 billion), following a 17.5 per cent drop last month.
The value of total residential building value fell 4.9 per cent (to $11.26 billion), comprised of a 5.0 per cent fall in new residential building (to $9.97 billion) and a 3.9 per cent drop in alterations and additions (to $1.29 billion).
"In chain volume terms, the value of approved total building work was $55.9 billion in the June quarter, the highest level on record," Mr Rossi said.
