Apartment approvals up 13% year-on-year, but construction costs put momentum at risk

June brought a lift in building approvals, but housing industry groups say that fragile confidence and feasibility pressures continue to weigh on the pipeline. The latest seasonally adjusted data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows building approvals for June rose 7.2% to 18,328. The result follows a 1.1% decline in May, which was largely due to the private dwellings excluding houses category – covering apartments, townhouses, semi-detached, row and terrace homes – falling 10.4%. In June however, both that category and detached houses rebounded, rising 17.8% and 0.4% respectively. ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi said the result meant that in the first six months of 2026 there were more than 10,000 detached houses approved across Australia, while private sector dwellings excluding houses hit yearly highs. “The increase saw dwellings approved in the 2025-26 financial year at its highest level since 2020-21, with private sector houses at the highest level since 2021-22 and private sector dwellings excluding houses at the highest level since 2017-18," Mr Rossi said. Apartments in particular recorded yearly growth. “During the 2025-26 financial year the...