Australian Building Approvals Fall 3.6 Percent in July

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that total dwelling approvals fell 3.6 percent in July to 17,687 units. While the monthly figure declined, it exceeded market expectations of a 4.8 percent drop. On an annual basis, approvals increased by 9.0 percent, representing a significant slowdown from the 28.8 percent growth recorded in the previous month.

Private sector house approvals decreased by 4.2 percent to 10,199 dwellings, with South Australia seeing the sharpest decline at 10.7 percent. Approvals for other private dwellings, such as apartments, fell 0.4 percent to 7,119 units, though this remains 19.9 percent higher than July 2025.

Despite the drop in residential volume, the total value of approved building work rose 3.3 percent to 21.19 billion Australian dollars, recovering from a 1.5 percent decline in June. This growth was driven by a 14.4 percent increase in non-residential building approvals, which reached 9.93 billion Australian dollars, while residential building value fell 4.9 percent to 11.26 billion Australian dollars. In chain volume terms, the total value of approved building work for the June quarter reached a record high of 55.9 billion Australian dollars.