Going Up is Going Down Down Under

The latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for building approvals reveal a serious slow down in new construction around Australia.


In September 2011 building approvals fell by 13.6% (seasonally adjusted) after an increase in August.  That makes the year to date result a 12% drop in approvals around the country.


On a state-by-state basis, overall building approval levels for all types of construction were -

• a 32.2 per cent drop in New South Wales
• a 13.6 per cent drop in Victoria
• a 4.8 per cent drop in Tasmania
• a 1.5 per cent drop in Western Australia
• a 0.1 per cent increase in Queensland
• a 11.3 per cent increase in South Australia

So, it's bad news for high density housing - which is just not going up (in all senses) at the moment.

And, this is another sign that the Australian housing sector continues to struggle with elevated interest rates, a shift by consumers to paying down debt rather than taking out new loans, and economic uncertainty triggered by overseas debt worries.

Francesco ...