April saw a 19% plunge in building approvals for private dwellings excluding houses, led by a drop in one key housing type.
The monthly building approvals data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the total number of dwellings approved across the country fell by 5.7% to 14,633 in April.
This follows a continuous decline from February and March numbers.
Apartments led the decline in approvals for private dwellings excluding houses – which included semi-detached, terrace houses, townhouses and apartments – ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi said.
The total number of dwellings approved fell 5.7% to 14,633 in April. Picture: Getty
“A drop in apartment approvals drove a 19% fall in private dwellings excluding houses,” Mr Rossi said.
According to the data, 2539 apartments were approved in April, which was a a 17.38% drop from the 3073 approved in March.
To meet its National Housing Accord target of 1.2 million new homes by 2029, Australia needs to approve and complete about 20,000 homes a month.
According to the annual State of the Housing System 2025 report, 938,000 new homes are expected to be built over the five-year period – leaving a 262,000 shortfall.
Property Council group executive policy and advocacy Matthew Kandelaars said the apartment numbers were volatile but followed a continuous trend.
“Just 5612 apartments were approved in March and April. This is a far cry from the 15,029 greenlit during March and April in the apartment boom of 2016,” Mr Kandelaars said.
“We will not meet our housing targets without the heavy lifting that needs to come from apartments that can deliver homes at scale close to transport, existing infrastructure and amenities.”
Detached house approvals were up 3.1% to 9349, led by NSW and Queensland. This result is also 4.6% higher than April 2024.
“New South Wales and Queensland were the main drivers of the overall rise in private sector house approvals, with both states up 7.3% in April,” Mr Rossi said.
“New South Wales had over 2000 private sector houses approved for the first time since December 2023.”
Apartment approvals drove a 19% fall in private dwellings excluding houses. Picture: Getty
Housing Industry Association economist Maurice Tapang said the rise of detached approvals was consistent with new-home sales increasing in April.
“This increased volume of house approvals also came before the second interest-rate cut in May this year, which indicates other strong demand factors are also driving growth in approvals,” Mr Tapang said.
“Australia’s unemployment rate remains at historically low levels, while real wages have been increasing. Home buyers appear to be increasingly returning to market, assisted by expectations of interest rate cuts.”
Results varied by state
When it comes to state-by-state performance, results were mixed.
NSW and Victoria led the overall drop by 7.8% and 6.5% respectively.
Queensland also fell by 1.3% but Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia rose by 12.7%, 9.6% and 9.5%.
Urban Taskforce CEO Tom Forrest said NSW continues to lead the declines but is hopeful with legislation passing for incentives such as Help to Buy.
“The results from April show that unless NSW Planning facilitates feasible development that is supported by infrastructure, it won’t happen. That is where we currently sit,” he said.
“On the positive front, the NSW Government has already introduced legislation to facilitate the Commonwealth’s Help to Buy scheme. This is a good step and shows urgency and imperative.”
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