October 2018 Building Approval Data

The ABS Released their Building Approvals numbers this week which showed that total building approvals fell -1.1% in October with major falls in apartment building approvals for the month and against the same period last year. Perth has seen the highest % fall in Apartment approvals over the past 12 months with a moving annual total drop of 19% against the previous 12 month figure. Sydney wasn’t far behind with a 15% drop in approvals, while Melbourne and Brisbane are still slightly higher on the 12 monthly comparison, but now falling quickly. The detached housing markets show some positive signs with Sydney and Melbourne to showing reasonable growth in building approvals. Clearly the limited funding, slow pre-sale market and risk of further price drops has increased the risk for residential development with many developers electing to hold off with Building Approvals. The flow on affects to the rest of the economy pose a warning sign for investors with reduced construction activity, reduce consumer spending (particularly for household furnishing and whitegoods) leading to higher risks in sectors exposed to the industries.