“Apartment projects increase housing approvals, but the numbers still fall short.”

In July, a 34 percent increase in apartments, townhouses, and semi-detached homes pushed new housing approvals to their highest monthly total in 18 months. This surge coincides with the first month of the national cabinet’s five-year goal to build 1.2 million new homes. However, despite the rise in approvals to 14,797, the national run rate for new housing approvals, a key indicator of activity, still falls short of the target needed to meet the housing accord’s objectives. Over the past year, approvals climbed to 165,443, an eight-month high, yet remain nearly one-third below the 240,000 annual pace required to achieve the five-year goal.

Denita Wawn, Chief Executive of Master Builders Australia, acknowledged the positive start to the accord but emphasized the challenges ahead, noting that only 940,000 new homes were approved over the past five years.

While the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ figures offer some optimism, high borrowing costs, a cost-of-living crisis, and rising costs for materials and labor continue to hinder private projects. Even with approvals, many developments are financially unfeasible for consumers.