- Telephone
- Email
The May Building Approvals data released today was somewhat weaker than had been anticipated, and were particularly poor for Queensland.
Across the nation Approvals (seasonally adjusted) fell 3.2% for the month and are now up just 3.1% for the year. In Trend terms the monthly decline (and the seventh such consecutive monthly drop) was 1.5% with the annual rate of growth ground to a virtual standstill, up just 0.4%. House approvals remain up 4.1% for the year while units are down 4.0%.
In Queensland the seasonally adjusted data was horrible; a thumping 26.7% drop for the month translating to a fall of 26.3% for the year. However, given the high level of volatility at the State level, we prefer the Trend series; this showed a 4.2% drop for the month (the 4th consecutive monthly decline) for a 10.4% decline for the year. This takes Trend approvals close to the four year low. The declines are being driven mainly by sharp falls in unit approvals (down 22.3% y/y) although house approvals are also dropping (down 1.6% y/y), and have been doing for almost 12 months.
Regional approvals will be released next week at which time we will be updating our Conus Trend Regional Building Approvals series for QLD.
We are proud to have CBC Staff Selection as supporters of the Conus/CBC Staff Selection Trend Employment and Jobseeker data series