“Detached building approvals in March reached their highest level since the ABS began this series in 1983,” stated Senior Economist, Nick Ward.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released its monthly building approvals for detached and multi-units data covering all states and territories.

“Detached building approvals in the three months to March were 54.2 per cent higher than at the same time last year,” added Mr Ward.

“This is consistent with the results in more timely leading indicators such as HIA’s New Home Sales Report.

“We anticipate a record volume of building work will commence this year, and into 2022, with more than 130,000 new detached homes to commence construction.

“The record volume of work will see the industry absorb workers from across the economy.

“Multi-unit approvals recorded a strong month in March, but this segment is prone to volatility. In the three months to March multi-unit approvals remain lower by 2.2 per cent compared to the same time in the previous year. This surprisingly strong result was driven by a rise in approvals for town houses and high rise apartments in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

“Renovation activity is also very strong with a record volume of approvals for alterations and additions. The value of renovation approvals are now higher by 34.1 per cent for the three months to March compared to the previous year,” concluded Mr Ward.

In seasonally adjusted terms, during the three months to March 2021, growth in detached approvals compared to the same time last year: New South Wales (+26.0 per cent), Victoria (+36.1 per cent), Queensland (+50.7 per cent), South Australia (+80.3 per cent) and Western Australia (+154.8 per cent).

In original terms, during the three months to March 2021, growth in detached approvals compared to the same time last year was: Tasmania (+50.8 per cent), Northern Territory (+217.9 per cent) and the Australia Capital Territory (+43.5 per cent).

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