Australian dwelling approvals climbed 5.1 % in September to 17,948, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Monday, marking a 5.1 % rise from August. The increase was largely driven by a sharp surge in apartment approvals, which rose 25.6 % to 4,129, with New South Wales reporting the biggest jump, moving from 901 approvals in August to 1,995 in September.
Private sector house approvals fell 5.3 % to 10,432, the agency said, saying it was the largest monthly decline since August 2025. Despite the fall, house approvals remained 9.6 % higher than a year earlier and surpassed 10,000 for the ninth straight month.
Daniel Rossi, head of construction statistics at the ABS, said:‘Approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses increased 16.6 percent to 6,579 in September, following a 21.7 percent fall in August, but remained 20.5 percent lower than a year earlier.’
Townhouse approvals rose 8.3 % to 2,792, following a 19.4 % fall in August. The value of total building approvals climbed 13 % to 19.02 billion Australian dollars, largely due to a 45.9 % jump in non‑residential building approvals to 7.96 billion Australian dollars. Residential building approvals, however, fell 2.8 % to 11.06 billion Australian dollars, the bureau reported. (1 Australian dollar equals 0.7 U.S. dollar.)
