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 show a small rise in October. Compared to September, total October dwelling approvals were 0.9% higher. On a 12 month basis, total approvals were 18.4% higher than in October 2016.
House approvals rose by 1.9% in October, which translates to a 6.0% rise over the previous 12 months. Apartment approvals are a lot more volatile (see chart below) and they fell by 0.2% when compared to September. However, due to a dramatic fall in October 2016, apartment approvals in this October are 37% higher than last year.
