The total number of dwellings approved rose 4.4 per cent in September to 14,842, following a 3.9 per cent fall in August, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Daniel Rossi, ABS head of construction statistics, said: “The rise this month was driven by increases across all dwelling types. Private sector houses reached 9,745 approved in September, to be at the highest level since August 2022”.
“Private dwellings excluding houses rose by 4.7 per cent, but remain at subdued levels following a 13.5 per cent fall in August.”
| Total dwellings | Private sector houses | Private sector dwellings excluding houses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep-09 | 13,930 | 9,512 | 3,794 |
| Oct-09 | 13,632 | 9,915 | 2,952 |
| Nov-09 | 15,018 | 9,918 | 3,586 |
| Dec-09 | 15,128 | 9,990 | 3,629 |
| Jan-10 | 15,019 | 9,987 | 3,256 |
| Feb-10 | 15,514 | 9,985 | 3,525 |
| Mar-10 | 16,851 | 9,935 | 4,636 |
| Apr-10 | 16,002 | 9,558 | 4,792 |
| May-10 | 15,084 | 9,306 | 4,474 |
| Jun-10 | 14,505 | 9,124 | 4,595 |
| Jul-10 | 15,461 | 8,910 | 5,507 |
| Aug-10 | 15,165 | 8,690 | 5,431 |
| Sep-10 | 13,650 | 8,494 | 4,445 |
| Oct-10 | 15,450 | 8,564 | 6,213 |
| Nov-10 | 14,202 | 8,387 | 5,198 |
| Dec-10 | 14,876 | 8,482 | 5,678 |
| Jan-11 | 13,263 | 8,346 | 4,583 |
| Feb-11 | 12,981 | 8,294 | 4,346 |
| Mar-11 | 13,968 | 8,186 | 5,313 |
| Apr-11 | 13,911 | 8,142 | 5,515 |
| May-11 | 12,819 | 8,013 | 4,517 |
| Jun-11 | 12,707 | 8,019 | 4,318 |
| Jul-11 | 13,175 | 7,663 | 4,989 |
| Aug-11 | 14,760 | 7,772 | 6,570 |
| Sep-11 | 12,340 | 7,766 | 4,328 |
| Oct-11 | 11,442 | 7,282 | 3,959 |
| Nov-11 | 11,699 | 7,614 | 3,872 |
| Dec-11 | 11,749 | 7,689 | 3,923 |
| Jan-12 | 11,250 | 7,795 | 3,241 |
| Feb-12 | 11,704 | 7,360 | 4,187 |
| Mar-12 | 11,770 | 7,509 | 4,081 |
| Apr-12 | 10,983 | 6,828 | 4,054 |
| May-12 | 13,980 | 7,303 | 6,545 |
| Jun-12 | 14,984 | 7,274 | 7,492 |
| Jul-12 | 11,810 | 7,683 | 3,875 |
| Aug-12 | 13,205 | 7,699 | 5,373 |
| Sep-12 | 15,433 | 7,932 | 7,332 |
| Oct-12 | 14,142 | 7,827 | 5,848 |
| Nov-12 | 13,954 | 7,711 | 5,997 |
| Dec-12 | 14,019 | 7,770 | 6,040 |
| Jan-13 | 12,644 | 7,814 | 4,640 |
| Feb-13 | 13,807 | 7,773 | 5,379 |
| Mar-13 | 13,314 | 7,959 | 5,119 |
| Apr-13 | 15,067 | 8,154 | 6,606 |
| May-13 | 14,291 | 8,371 | 5,430 |
| Jun-13 | 13,840 | 8,274 | 5,180 |
| Jul-13 | 15,114 | 8,546 | 6,232 |
| Aug-13 | 14,918 | 8,414 | 6,315 |
| Sep-13 | 18,575 | 8,672 | 9,629 |
| Oct-13 | 17,509 | 8,725 | 8,522 |
| Nov-13 | 17,296 | 9,239 | 7,764 |
| Dec-13 | 17,030 | 9,064 | 7,710 |
| Jan-14 | 17,665 | 10,197 | 7,162 |
| Feb-14 | 16,902 | 9,745 | 6,941 |
| Mar-14 | 16,053 | 9,390 | 6,406 |
| Apr-14 | 16,300 | 9,769 | 6,175 |
| May-14 | 16,811 | 9,786 | 6,799 |
| Jun-14 | 16,743 | 9,660 | 6,752 |
| Jul-14 | 16,985 | 9,789 | 6,953 |
| Aug-14 | 18,565 | 9,680 | 8,631 |
| Sep-14 | 16,491 | 9,543 | 6,715 |
| Oct-14 | 18,007 | 9,855 | 7,963 |
| Nov-14 | 20,307 | 9,847 | 10,241 |
| Dec-14 | 20,136 | 9,730 | 9,959 |
| Jan-15 | 19,872 | 9,941 | 9,606 |
| Feb-15 | 19,792 | 9,709 | 9,737 |
| Mar-15 | 20,830 | 9,630 | 10,879 |
| Apr-15 | 18,960 | 9,527 | 9,115 |
| May-15 | 20,829 | 9,548 | 10,992 |
| Jun-15 | 19,466 | 9,909 | 9,213 |
| Jul-15 | 19,701 | 9,741 | 9,058 |
| Aug-15 | 19,401 | 10,083 | 9,162 |
| Sep-15 | 20,257 | 9,819 | 10,168 |
| Oct-15 | 21,607 | 9,741 | 11,629 |
| Nov-15 | 18,789 | 9,648 | 9,061 |
| Dec-15 | 20,133 | 10,291 | 9,675 |
| Jan-16 | 18,729 | 9,818 | 8,620 |
| Feb-16 | 19,866 | 9,823 | 9,689 |
| Mar-16 | 20,594 | 10,249 | 10,138 |
| Apr-16 | 20,820 | 9,994 | 10,625 |
| May-16 | 20,317 | 10,055 | 9,954 |
| Jun-16 | 18,678 | 9,684 | 8,793 |
| Jul-16 | 21,419 | 9,569 | 11,594 |
| Aug-16 | 21,861 | 9,690 | 11,777 |
| Sep-16 | 19,349 | 9,793 | 9,387 |
| Oct-16 | 16,548 | 9,552 | 6,688 |
| Nov-16 | 18,307 | 9,632 | 8,426 |
| Dec-16 | 18,451 | 9,409 | 8,899 |
| Jan-17 | 17,053 | 9,211 | 7,648 |
| Feb-17 | 19,023 | 9,435 | 9,352 |
| Mar-17 | 16,430 | 9,258 | 6,946 |
| Apr-17 | 18,195 | 9,484 | 8,499 |
| May-17 | 16,943 | 9,850 | 6,933 |
| Jun-17 | 18,862 | 9,959 | 8,685 |
| Jul-17 | 19,290 | 10,210 | 8,613 |
| Aug-17 | 19,353 | 10,270 | 8,905 |
| Sep-17 | 19,729 | 10,085 | 9,395 |
| Oct-17 | 19,673 | 10,140 | 9,210 |
| Nov-17 | 23,034 | 10,090 | 12,784 |
| Dec-17 | 17,913 | 10,157 | 7,599 |
| Jan-18 | 19,312 | 9,896 | 9,146 |
| Feb-18 | 19,196 | 10,269 | 8,618 |
| Mar-18 | 19,740 | 10,429 | 9,155 |
| Apr-18 | 18,399 | 10,588 | 7,615 |
| May-18 | 17,944 | 10,037 | 7,749 |
| Jun-18 | 19,611 | 10,196 | 9,086 |
| Jul-18 | 18,572 | 10,155 | 8,154 |
| Aug-18 | 16,391 | 9,928 | 6,317 |
| Sep-18 | 16,837 | 9,630 | 6,890 |
| Oct-18 | 17,062 | 10,036 | 6,850 |
| Nov-18 | 15,194 | 9,363 | 5,703 |
| Dec-18 | 14,295 | 9,076 | 5,089 |
| Jan-19 | 14,591 | 9,383 | 5,012 |
| Feb-19 | 16,577 | 8,922 | 7,549 |
| Mar-19 | 15,103 | 8,444 | 6,441 |
| Apr-19 | 14,386 | 8,614 | 5,638 |
| May-19 | 14,442 | 8,823 | 5,395 |
| Jun-19 | 15,029 | 8,876 | 5,771 |
| Jul-19 | 13,459 | 8,625 | 4,532 |
| Aug-19 | 13,891 | 8,522 | 5,252 |
| Sep-19 | 14,777 | 8,782 | 5,848 |
| Oct-19 | 14,260 | 8,245 | 5,803 |
| Nov-19 | 14,888 | 8,444 | 6,267 |
| Dec-19 | 16,071 | 8,669 | 7,223 |
| Jan-20 | 13,410 | 8,630 | 4,633 |
| Feb-20 | 16,290 | 8,703 | 7,411 |
| Mar-20 | 15,367 | 8,558 | 6,601 |
| Apr-20 | 14,906 | 8,795 | 5,722 |
| May-20 | 13,383 | 8,815 | 4,274 |
| Jun-20 | 12,929 | 8,433 | 4,112 |
| Jul-20 | 15,186 | 9,205 | 5,651 |
| Aug-20 | 14,432 | 9,570 | 4,688 |
| Sep-20 | 16,086 | 10,550 | 5,162 |
| Oct-20 | 17,522 | 11,126 | 6,053 |
| Nov-20 | 17,724 | 11,487 | 5,904 |
| Dec-20 | 19,270 | 13,249 | 5,775 |
| Jan-21 | 17,079 | 12,079 | 4,665 |
| Feb-21 | 19,946 | 13,924 | 5,621 |
| Mar-21 | 22,617 | 14,045 | 8,125 |
| Apr-21 | 20,246 | 13,467 | 6,525 |
| May-21 | 20,629 | 13,707 | 6,665 |
| Jun-21 | 19,565 | 12,491 | 6,657 |
| Jul-21 | 18,418 | 11,962 | 6,168 |
| Aug-21 | 19,017 | 11,889 | 6,872 |
| Sep-21 | 18,627 | 10,484 | 7,937 |
| Oct-21 | 16,005 | 10,313 | 5,377 |
| Nov-21 | 16,353 | 10,324 | 5,820 |
| Dec-21 | 17,128 | 9,914 | 6,948 |
| Jan-22 | 13,296 | 8,747 | 4,319 |
| Feb-22 | 18,702 | 9,812 | 7,608 |
| Mar-22 | 15,114 | 9,723 | 5,096 |
| Apr-22 | 15,394 | 9,760 | 5,485 |
| May-22 | 16,481 | 9,690 | 6,463 |
| Jun-22 | 16,650 | 9,740 | 6,453 |
| Jul-22 | 14,375 | 9,878 | 4,277 |
| Aug-22 | 17,296 | 10,181 | 6,842 |
| Sep-22 | 17,244 | 9,531 | 7,527 |
| Oct-22 | 15,220 | 9,234 | 5,807 |
| Nov-22 | 14,887 | 8,989 | 5,561 |
| Dec-22 | 17,521 | 8,813 | 8,109 |
| Jan-23 | 12,256 | 7,914 | 4,182 |
| Feb-23 | 13,543 | 8,689 | 4,629 |
| Mar-23 | 13,160 | 8,310 | 4,630 |
| Apr-23 | 12,838 | 8,232 | 4,410 |
| May-23 | 15,011 | 8,181 | 6,626 |
| Jun-23 | 13,947 | 8,219 | 5,192 |
| Jul-23 | 12,904 | 8,175 | 4,479 |
| Aug-23 | 13,579 | 8,759 | 4,633 |
| Sep-23 | 13,891 | 8,349 | 5,302 |
| Oct-23 | 14,572 | 8,880 | 5,533 |
| Nov-23 | 14,583 | 8,649 | 5,751 |
| Dec-23 | 13,586 | 8,777 | 4,513 |
| Jan-24 | 12,933 | 7,779 | 4,933 |
| Feb-24 | 13,215 | 8,862 | 4,005 |
| Mar-24 | 13,262 | 9,027 | 4,076 |
| Apr-24 | 13,496 | 8,995 | 4,203 |
| May-24 | 14,326 | 9,213 | 4,944 |
| Jun-24 | 13,454 | 9,217 | 3,995 |
| Jul-24 | 14,798 | 9,323 | 5,137 |
| Aug-24 | 14,220 | 9,536 | 4,443 |
| Sep-24 | 14,842 | 9,745 | 4,653 |
Private house approvals mixed across the states
Despite mixed results across the states, private sector house approvals across Australia rose 2.2 per cent, to be 16.7 per cent higher than September 2023.
South Australia recorded the largest increase of the states at 10.3 per cent. Western Australia also continued to rise, approving 1,661 private sector houses, its highest number since May 2021.
Private dwellings excluding houses rise
Private sector dwellings excluding houses rose 4.7 per cent (4,653 dwellings), to be 12.2 per cent lower than one year ago.
The September result was driven by a rise in approvals for high-density apartments. There were 1,815 apartments approved in nine or more storey blocks in September, in original terms, compared to 1,201 in August.
| Private sector houses | Total dwelling units approved | |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 1,839 | 2,918 |
| Victoria | 2,890 | 4,914 |
| Queensland | 2,168 | 3,438 |
| South Australia | 899 | 1,123 |
| Western Australia | 1,661 | 2,000 |
(a) Seasonally adjusted estimates are not published for NT and ACT for all dwelling types. Private sector houses are not published for Tasmania
Non-residential approvals drive rise in value
The value of total building approved rose 1.4 per cent ($13.61 billion), following a 1.1 per cent rise in August.
The value of approved non-residential building rose 3.6 per cent ($5.57 billion), following an 11.3 per cent August increase.
Total residential building value was flat ($8.04 billion), comprised of a 0.2 per cent rise in the value of new residential building approved ($6.88 billion) and a 1.3 per cent fall in alterations and additions ($1.16 billion), in seasonally adjusted terms.
