Login
ISCOVER
The housing lobby has criticised government policymakers after new home approvals fell for the seventh time in nine months.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that 15,659 dwellings were approved in June – up 16 per cent over the year but down 5 per cent on May.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Private sector housing approvals reached 9,145, which marked a 13.1 per cent annual rise but a 2.2 per cent monthly decline.
There were also 6,214 approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses – an annual jump of 23.3 per cent and a monthly fall of 10.5 per cent.
Shane Garrett, senior economist at the Housing Industry Association, said the data suggested that new home approvals had probably peaked.
“Despite Australia’s inadequate supply of housing, it appears that the usual suspects have brought the upturn in activity to a halt,” he said.
“These include factors like slow land release and barriers to the development of residential land.”
However, Mr Garrett said there was still a “window of opportunity” to significantly add to the supply of affordable housing while interest rates remained so low.
“A greater push on this front by policymakers could ensure that the housing prospects for this generation of Australians are greatly enhanced,” he said.
[Related: Housing finance declines in May]
