Melbourne takes Manhattan as high-rise approvals soar

The increasing “Manhattanisation” of inner Melbourne has been confirmed in the latest annual building approval figures.

Across Victoria, residential high-rise building permits surged 70% over the 12 months to June 2011 to $3.4 billion, according to figures released by Victoria’s Building Commission.

Inner Melbourne, where the majority of high rises are under construction, registered a 12% increase in building approvals, double the 6% increase recorded for the entire Melbourne metropolitan region.

In comparison, building activity in the outer-Melbourne suburbs, where houses predominate, was flat, with approvals down 0.5%.

The north east of Victoria suffered the biggest drop in housing approvals, down 18% to $784 billion with big drops also recorded in Gippsland, North Central, the North West and the South West regions.

Repeating the May figures, across Victoria, domestic housing approvals remained steady over the period, this time to $13.1 billion.

Confirming the growing investment in retail assets by major listed landlords, retail approvals increased by 18% to $1.3 billion while industrial approvals increased 10% to $451 million

Overall, commercial building approvals increased by just 3% to $2.7 billion,

Across all sectors, the value of building permit activity rose to $24.3 billion over the 2010-11 period, a 2% increase on the $23.9 billion recorded over the previous 12-month period.