How did New South Wales building approvals fare?
The latest ABS housing approval statistics indicated a record high, but the results have been varied from state to state.
New South Wales approvals actually dropped over the November period, explains Urban Taskforce chief executive Chris Johnson.
“The big drop is in apartment approvals which only reached 1,968 approvals in November 2014 compared to 2,668 approvals in November 2013,” he said. The month recorded a 1.4% drop for New South Wales, largely due to a 3.0% drop in approvals for detached houses. Multi-unit approvals were actually up by 0.1%.
“Victoria is leading the country with 5,009 home approvals in November compared to 3,958 for NSW which is a significantly larger state,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the Housing Industry Association NSW’s executive director David Bare said that despite the modest decline, the overall activity remains healthy and does point to a strong industry.
“Late in 2014 we saw fewer approvals of multi-unit dwellings compared with the record highs achieved in 2013. However there is a strong pipeline and monthly figures can be quite volatile,” said Bare.
“It is also pleasing to see the recovery in detached housing that took place throughout 2012 and 2013 has been maintained right throughout 2014,” he said.