The latest Building Commission pulse data shows that building permit activity in Victoria in April 2010 reached $1.9 billion - the highest April figure on record.
"pulse shows that the value of building permits issued in April 2010 was 17 per cent higher than April 2009, while the number of permits grew by 11 per cent to 8,910," says Tony Arnel, building commissioner.
"As has been the case for many months now, Rural Victoria performed strongly, rising 57 per cent over April 2009 and far outstripping the growth rate in the Metropolitan region, which was 8 per cent higher than the same month last year."
By building use, the value of domestic (housing) building permits issued increased by 23 per cent to just over $1 billion and the value of building permits for public building use jumped 37 per cent over the same month in 2009, reaching $257 million.
By region, building permit figures for April 2010 compared with the same month last year show:
• inner Melbourne fell 9 per cent to $720.5 million
• outer Melbourne increased 33 per cent to $695.7 million
• Gippsland leapt 78 per cent to $100.6 million
• north central rose 14 per cent to $63.5 million
• north east surged 68 per cent to $82.8 million
• north west climbed 44 per cent to $71.4 million
• south qest jumped 70 per cent to $155.1 million
By building use, building permit figures for April 2010 compared with the same month last year show:
• residential (including high rise) rose 5 per cent to $246.8 million
• commercial increased 27 per cent to $228.9 million
• retail slipped 6 per cent to $63.9 million
• industrial fell 55 per cent to $20.4 million
• hospital/healthcare declined 45 per cent to $34.9 million
For the financial year to the end of April, the value of building permits issued was $19.6 billion, an increase of 23 per cent when compared to the same period in the previous financial year.
