Building work on new homes barely moved in the March quarter 2024, pulled down by a drop in new apartments, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The latest figures show that the total number of dwellings commenced rose 0.5 per cent to 39,715 in the March quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms.
New houses drove the increase with a rise of 4.8 per cent to 25,072 dwellings, up from a low base meaning that work in this sector has fallen 6.7 per cent since March 2023.
Work started on new multi-residential buildings fell 3.1 per cent to 14,071 homes, following a rise of 3.3 per cent in the December quarter. Work started in this sector is now down 21.5 per cent through the year.
Altogether, 226,307 homes were under construction in the March quarter, of which 90,369 were new houses.
In trend terms, 46,864 dwellings were completed in the March quarter. Houses accounted for 30,992 homes, up 3.7 per cent from December making an increase of 14.6 per cent since March 2023. Multi-unit completions rose 5.6 per cent from December to 14,844 dwellings.
The value of work done on new home building fell 0.8 per cent to $16.9b and is 1.2 per cent lower for the year. Work done on alterations and additions to residential buildings fell 2.6 per cent to $2.7bn.