The Property Council of Australia has welcomed a strong uplift in housing approvals for September - driven largely by apartments, but cautioned that the volatility of apartment approvals means continued momentum can’t be taken for granted.
The total number of homes approved rose 12% in September to 17,019, according to seasonally adjusted data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Pleasingly, this month had the highest level of apartment approvals since December 2022, rising 81.7% in original terms in September to 5,430 apartments, following a weak August result of 2,989 apartments.
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Property Council Group executive policy and advocacy Matthew Kandelaars said despite the volatility of apartment approvals from month-to-month, the rise is a welcome sign of progress.
“We’re very pleased to see a strong rise in approvals, but one strong month alone is not enough to meet our welcome and ambitious housing targets.
“We need to build over 20,000 homes each month to meet our housing targets, meaning that we need our approval figures to be consistently above this benchmark to keep pace with our targets.
“The volatility of apartment approvals shows how difficult it is for apartment builders to navigate the approvals process.
“The years it takes for some housing projects, particularly large-scale apartments, to get through approval processes is putting a handbrake on supply.
“We have welcomed recent planning reforms in NSW and Victoria, even though they were long overdue. Now, implementation must match the ambition, and investment settings need to shift us from approvals to commencements and then to completions.
“Better regulatory settings will be critical to support Australia’s $4.3 trillion superannuation sector to deliver 35,000 additional new homes over five years and need to be locked in urgently, noting they have been supported by the federal government.
“Likewise, a system of environment assessments and approvals that supports pro-housing, pro-environment solutions is within reach if the Parliament can grasp the opportunity for balanced reform.
“Our welcome and ambitious housing targets are kicking the cobwebs off planning systems, but those targets now need to represent the full diversity of housing types. Tens of thousands of purpose-built student accommodation and co-living beds and homes in land lease communities are as much a home as any other and need to be counted towards our 1.2 million goal."
