Building approvals at record high for February
Approvals for dwellings increased to a record high of 17,104 in February, with dwelling approval figures for January described as "much stronger than expected" by Westpac.
January saw dwelling approvals increase by 6.8% from the previous month and 34.6% over the year, according to seasonally adjusted estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The strong result defied market expectations of a modest 0.5% rise for the month, while Westpac had predicted a 1.5% decline in approvals.
However, Westpac is quick to warn that data for the early months of the year are comparitively unreliable, with 'raw' unadjusted approvals about 25% lower in January than seasonally adjusted approvals, which take into account the seasonal component of fluctuations. Despite this, Westpac notes that seasonal adjustments are unlikely to have had a large impact on the overall results, with unadjusted January approvals still up 36% on the previous year.
Private sector house approvals in particular posted a strong result, with a 8.3% increase in the month to January, and a total 26% rise in the year to January. Apartment approvals, which are, as termed by CommSec, "lumpy", rose by 4.7% in the month.
According to Westpac, the figures underscore a strong outlook for new residential building in 2014, with the bank predicting double-digit annual growth for this year.