David McLennan August 07, 2012
The ACT has recorded the largest trend increase in building approvals in the country at almost triple the national average, new figures show.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics' latest building approval figures, published today, showed there was a 9.1 per cent increase in trend terms to 479 total dwellings approved in the ACT in June.
It was the territory's fifth straight increase in trend terms. The national result has also increased for five consecutive months in trend terms, although the ACT's increases have been much larger – including the latest which is almost triple the 3.1 per cent national rise.
The bureau does not publish the more widely used seasonally adjusted figured for the ACT in this series, however, the report said that in these terms, there was a 2.5 per cent fall in approvals nationally after a 27 per cent increase the previous month.
"Dwelling approvals decreased in in June in Victoria (-14.6 per cent) but increased Western Australia (28.9 per cent), Queensland (18.0 per cent), Tasmania (9.2 per cent), New South Wales (7.7 per cent) and South Australia (4.1 per cent) in seasonally adjusted terms," the bureau said.
"In seasonally adjusted terms, approvals for private sector houses fell 1.1 per cent in June. ... The value of total building approved fell 9.8 per cent in June, in seasonally adjusted terms, after rising for 2 months. The value of residential building rose 0.2 per cent while non-residential building fell 22.3 per cent."