New dwelling commencements fell 5.5% in March quarter: ABS

The recovery in the new building sector slipped in the March quarter.

The total number of dwelling units commenced fell 5.5% to 38,702 dwellings in the March quarter following a rise of 4.1% in the December quarter, according to new ABS figures.

Construction of new private sector houses fell 3% to 22,343 commencements while unit commencements fell 9.5% to 14,778 dwellings.

However both are up on the same quarter by 4.6% for houses and 21.3% for units.

On a dollar value basis, the seasonally adjusted estimate of new residential building work done fell 0.6% to $10.275 billion while unit construction work fell 0.1% to $3.769 billion.