As per ABS data, the number of dwelling approved rose 1.3%, in trend terms, during March. The surge in dwellings was driven by private sector dwellings excluding houses that rose 2.8% in trend terms with private sector houses rising 0.2%. The results reflected that there was no evident impact on building approvals from COVID-19. However, ABS is keeping an eye on potential impacts in the months ahead.
Dwelling approvals increased in New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia and Victoria in trend terms.
However, in seasonally adjusted terms, there was 4% fall in dwellings approved in March driven by 8.2% fall in private dwellings excluding houses.
The value of residential building rose 0.5% while non-residential building rose by 2.3%.