Medium-density housing approvals are still rising in Western Australia, albeit slowly, in contrast to approvals for detached homes, which have gone backwards along with the economy, according to new research.
Bankwest’s Housing Density Report, released today, showed medium-density approvals increased by 0.4 per cent in the year to November 2015, to 8,001.
In the previous corresponding 12 months, there were 7,971 medium density dwellings approved in WA, representing a growth rate of 35.7 per cent.
Stand-alone home approvals plunged by 12.9 per cent in the year to the end of November, according to the report.
Bankwest general manager, private banking, Greg Caust, said while the figures reflected the mining downturn, it was encouraging to see growth in medium-density approvals.
“The resilience in this development would be underpinned by the expectation of solid population growth in Perth over the next decade,” he said.
The leading areas were Perth City, South Perth and Belmont-Victoria Park, where the proportion of medium-density approvals far outstripped those for detached homes.
In the CBD, 86.8 per cent of all approvals were for medium-density housing, compared with 77.1 per cent in South Perth and 74.2 per cent in Belmont-Victoria Park.
However medium-density approvals made up just 30 per cent of all approvals across the Perth metropolitan area.
The only regional area where medium-density approvals were a higher proportion than detached houses was in the Pilbara, where 65 per cent of homes over the period were units or apartments.
