Home building approvals rebound in October

Home building approvals have bounced back in October following Septembers disappointing result

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Home building approvals have bounced back in October following Septembers disappointing result, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday.

Approvals for the construction of new homes increased 11.4% over the month, after plummeting 11% in September. The result was buoyed by other dwellings – including apartments, flats and townhouses – which rose 31.3% in October. Private sector house approvals fell slightly by 0.2% over the month.

In the year to October 2014, there were a total of 197,530 new dwelling approvals, 14.8% higher than the previous twelve-month period.

“Today’s strong figures show that the home building recovery has still not run its course,” Shane Garrett, senior economist at the Housing Industry Association said.

“However, the large changes in activity over recent months are largely due to significant swings in medium and high-density approvals. Volatility of this nature makes month-to month changes a bit more difficult to interpret.”

Garret says it is critical that this momentum continues.

“Australia needs to build a minimum of 180,000 new dwelling commencements per year over the long term. We are only barely scratching this figure now. It is very important that all supply constraints are addressed to ensure a level of commencements in excess of 180,000 being the benchmark, not a cyclical peak.”

 

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