New housing approvals rose 3.6% in seasonally adjusted terms across Australia in November last year, fuelled by a surge in new units across the country.  

There were 16,448 new dwelling approvals made up of 10,892 detached house approvals and 5,315 non-house approvals in November, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

The uptick in monthly housing approvals follows a 13.6% fall in October.

“The rise in the total number of dwellings approved in November was driven by an increase in approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses, which rose 9.7 per cent,” said ABS Director of Construction Statistics Daniel Rossi. 

“Private sector houses continue to level off, up 1.4% in November, following a 3.5% rise in October.  

“The series has been at historically elevated levels over the past year, largely driven by Government stimulus and record low interest rates.  

“While private house approvals are no longer at record highs, the November result remains 25.8% higher than the pre-pandemic level in November 2019, indicating on-going strength in the detached housing market.” 

Tasmania recorded the greatest increase in new dwelling approvals in November, up 40.8%.  

New dwelling approvals were 20% higher in Queensland, 14.5% higher in South Australia and 8.9% higher in Victoria as well.  

New South Wales posted the greatest decline in new approvals, down 18.4%, while Western Australia fell 1.1%.  

The ABS said the value of total building approved increased 14.8%, driven by a rise in the value of non-residential building, up 28.3%.  

The value of total residential building was 7.1% higher, accounting for an 8.5% increase in the value of new residential building, and a 0.8% decline in alterations and additions. 

The rebound in new dwelling approvals comes as Australian home values finished the year 22.1% higher in 2021.  

However, CoreLogic found that a two-speed property market was emerging across the country.  

National home values rose 1% higher in December last year, continuing the softening trend in the monthly home value growth rate since March.  

In the Melbourne and Sydney dwelling markets, momentum slowed quite sharply with both cities recording the softest monthly readings since October 2020. 

Brisbane and Adelaide, along with regional Queensland, were the only broad regions where there was no evidence of value growth slowing just yet.