Aside from engineering and architectural design, one of the earliest requirements of a building project is to obtain approval from the relevant statutory body. As a result, building approvals data is a leading economic indicator of future construction. While not all projects which have been approved are completed, all completed projects will have been granted approval. Approvals data thus provides a useful indicator of future construction.
The latest building approval figures have been released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and they indicate total approvals went into reverse in December. Compared to November, total December dwelling approvals were 10.0% lower after revisions. On a 12 month basis, total approvals were 5.5% lower than in December 2016 (after revisions).
House approvals increased by 1.4% in December, which translates to a 5.5% rise over the previous 12 months. After revisions, the corresponding figures for November were +11.9% for the month and +18.1% for the year.