The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has reported that a number of residential building approvals fell by 5.5 per cent during March.
According to HIA Senior Economist, Shane Garrett, this is the largest monthly decline in building approvals since July of last year and represents a reversal of the growth which occurred in February.
"The decline in approvals for units was particularly pronounced in March with a fall of 7.7 per cent occurring. This is in comparison to the 4.1 per cent decline in detached house approvals during March," Shane Garrett said.
"When we take a longer view on today's data, the picture is a little more encouraging. Approvals in March were 3.9 per cent higher than twelve months previously. For the first quarter of 2013, total approvals rose by 8.8 per cent compared with the same period in 2012.”
Mr Garrett says the sharp decline in approvals during March underlines the delicate state of Australia's housing market.
“A tentative recovery does appear to be underway but it remains delicate," he said. "Every positive indicator on housing seems to be quickly followed by negative data in relation to other aspects of the market.”
“There remains huge scope for policy intervention, especially with regard to inefficient taxes on housing. We urge the government not to ignore these opportunities in the Budget tabled for later this month," concluded Mr Garrett.
In March 2013, total seasonally adjusted building approvals increased in Queensland (+13.3 per cent) and in Western Australia (+0.6 per cent) during March.
Decreases in building approvals took place in South Australia (-23.5 per cent), New South Wales (-10.9 per cent), Victoria (-9.1 per cent) and Tasmania (-0.3 per cent).
In trend terms building approvals in the Northern Territory rose by 11.9 per cent but fell by 1.2 per cent in the ACT during March 2013 compared with the previous month.
