Long-term consistency is essential to address Australia's housing shortfall
The Property Council of Australia has welcomed a significant rise in apartment approvals in October, but cautioned that the figures must stabilise in a sustained upward trend to address the country’s housing shortfall.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that the total number of dwellings approved increased by 4.2% in October to 15,498, following a 5.8% rise in September. The growth was driven by a sharp jump in approvals for high-rise apartments, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria.
Approvals for private dwellings excluding houses — which include townhouses and apartments — rose 24.8% to 5,859, the highest level since May 2023. In contrast, approvals for standalone houses fell 5.2% after hitting a two-year high in September. High-rise apartment approvals surged to 2,782 in October, up from 1,815 in September, marking their highest level since January.
Despite the monthly uptick, the longer-term picture highlights a concerning decline in apartment construction. Over the past 12 months, just 56,797 apartments and townhouses were approved, down from 63,307 in the previous year and significantly below the nearly 100,000 approvals recorded in 2017-18.
Matthew Kandelaars (pictured above), group executive of policy and advocacy at the Property Council of Australia, said the increase in approvals was encouraging but noted that volumes remain far below historical highs.
“Apartment approvals are historically volatile, so we need more consistency to identify a trend, but the increase is positive,” Kandelaars said. “Apartments are an integral part of our housing ecosystem and can positively tip the supply equation at scale. We need to get back to the construction levels seen nearly 10 years ago.”
Kandelaars emphasised the importance of meeting the federal government’s National Housing Accord target of delivering 1.2 million new homes over five years, warning against complacency.
“We are now six months into the National Housing Accord’s ambitious target, and we cannot allow it to fade into the background over the next four and a half years,” he said.
He also called for greater cooperation between federal, state, and local governments to address long-standing challenges such as rising construction costs, labour shortages, and planning delays.
“Housing targets offer our best opportunity to move past decades of blame-shifting,” Kandelaars said. “We need a grand housing partnership between all levels of government to commit their treasuries and planning systems to delivering improved housing supply and choice.”
Kandelaars praised recent federal legislation, including measures to boost the build-to-rent sector, which is expected to deliver 80,000 homes over the next decade. However, he warned that years of undersupply would require decisive action to overcome entrenched obstacles in the housing market.
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