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 have been granted approval. Approvals data thus provides a useful indicator of future construction activity.
The latest building approval figures have been released for November by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and they indicate the downtrend which started in July had continued. Seasonally-adjusted, total approvals fell by 9.1% in November, which is well under the market consensus figure of -0.3% and substantially below October’s 1.4% fall. On an annual basis, total approvals fell by 32.8%, a substantial deterioration from October’s comparable figure of -13.0% after revisions.
