The Australian residential construction sector experienced a resurgence in February, with total dwelling approvals growing by 29.7% to reach 19,022, according to the latest seasonally adjusted data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The recovery was primarily fuelled by a 101.2% spike in private sector dwellings excluding houses—such as apartments and townhouses—effectively reversing a period of sustained volatility that saw consecutive declines in December and January.
ABS head of construction statistics, Daniel Rossi, noted that apartment approvals alone soared by 191.2% in original terms, while townhouses climbed 73.8%, bringing the 12-month rolling total of approved dwellings to 195,434.
The geographical landscape for detached housing remained mixed; while private house approvals grew a modest 0.2% nationally to 9,847, New South Wales led the charge with a 13.7 per cent increase, marking its highest level since late 2023.
Queensland saw the sharpest decline, falling 13.4%. Accompanying this volume growth, the total value of approved building work rose 14.4% to $20.43 billion.
This was underpinned by residential building value hitting a record high of $12.50 billion, a 30.8% jump driven by new developments.
While the residential sector flourished, the non-residential sector cooled slightly, recording a 4.4% decrease in value to $7.93 billion following a strong January.