WA dwelling approvals fall

Dwelling approvals in WA dropped by 3 per cent in October, stabilising from a 21 per cent drop the previous month, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.  

In WA, 1,451 private sector houses and 1,575 units were approved in October, down from 1,234 private sector houses and 1,604 units in September.

This marks a further drop from 1,406 private sector houses and 1,999 units in August.

Nationally, dwelling approvals dropped 12.9 per cent in October and 3.9 per cent in September.

ABS construction statistics director Daniel Rossi said the decline was driven by a large fall in approvals for private sector dwellings, which fell by 37.5 per cent nationally.

But in WA, private sector approvals lifted 16.3 per cent in October, following a 12.2 per cent drop in September.

NSW had the largest drop in housing approvals in October, of 29.4 per cent, followed by South Australia which dropped by 8.1 per cent and WA at 2.7 per cent.

Victoria and Tasmania dipped less than WA at 2 per cent and 1.8 per cent drops respectively.

Queensland showed an uptick in dwelling approvals by 2.2 per cent, or 2,118 private sector houses and 3,038 units.

Building approvals remain above pre-pandemic levels, the ABS said.

The value of total residential building fell 11.4 per cent nationally during October, with a 13.5 per cent decrease in the value of new residential building and a 2.6 per cent rise in the value of alterations and additions.

Housing Industry Association WA figures showed were 23,985 residential building starts in WA in the 12 months to July 2021, a 74 per cent increase on the previous financial year.

Industry sources say government stimulus prompted more people to build, but critical labour shortages and rising construction costs have led to a decrease in housing starts.

HIA WA anticipates housing starts in WA would reach 22,279 in 2021-22 – a 7 per cent drop on 2020-21.