Australia: Strong building approvals in November – ANZ

ANZ analysts note that Australian residential building approvals grew 11.1% MoM in November, following a revised 7.9% decline in October.

Key Quotes

“Unit approvals surged while house approvals saw a more modest improvement.”

“NSW unit approvals more than doubled in November, at 119.9% m/m growth. Unit approvals in VIC, QLD and WA declined, while South Australia saw a 50.5% uplift m/m. House approvals saw strong growth in Victoria (19.5% m/m) and more modest growth in Queensland (7.7% m/m) and ACT (3.4%).”

“NSW unit approvals grew 48.8% y/y, culminating in total approvals growth of 7.1% y/y in NSW. This is the first time since May 2018 that NSW has seen positive annual growth. Victorian approvals are still slightly negative in annual terms (-1.4% y/y), but this was the smallest negative result in 2019.”

“Non-residential approvals are trending down. The value of non-residential approvals declined sharply in November (-20.7% m/m) and annual growth in non-residential approvals is now at its third-lowest result in the last three years.”