Login
ISCOVER
The residential construction industry remains vulnerable, with figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics highlighting a fall in building approvals throughout June.
According to the ABS figures, the number of residential building approvals fell by 6.9 per cent during June.
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.
As a result, the number of approvals is 13.0 per cent lower than 12 months ago.
“Today’s figures from the ABS show particular weakness in the multi-unit segment of the market, with approvals declining by 15.2 per cent in June to a level that is 36.1 per cent lower than twelve months earlier. Approvals for detached houses also dropped slightly during June but have risen by 10.0 per cent compared with a year ago,” HIA senior economist Shane Garrett said.
“There had been some signs in earlier months that a housing recovery was underway but today’s figures put a large question mark over that.
“We continue to see weakness in segments of the market like multi-units as well as in regions like Victoria and Tasmania. As long as this weakness persists, there is no prospect of a broad-based recovery occurring.
“While there is no single solution to the housing industry’s difficulties, today’s figures surely make it imperative for the RBA to cut rates next week.”
Mr Garrett said the upcoming election provides a good opportunity for both parties to address the structural impediments affecting the housing industry.
