The tapering of Australia's apartment building boom has been hinted at again in fresh data, which shows that after months of lagging behind, sales of detached houses drove new home sales higher in August.
The Housing Industry Association's August survey showed a seasonally adjusted 2.3 per cent increase in new home sales during the month.
This rise was driven by a strong 3.5 per cent increase in detached house sales, while sales of multi-units, or apartments, posted a 1.7 per cent decline.
On Wednesday, official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the number of buildings approved during August fell a seasonally adjusted 6.9 per cent in the month after a sharp dive in apartment approvals.
“It is becoming increasingly apparent that total sales activity has already peaked this year, but today’s update shows that sales are remaining elevated," HIA economist Diwa Hopkins said.
"For ‘multi-units’, it is May 2015 that is shaping up to represent a peak in monthly sales, with declines occurring in each of the subsequent months," Ms Hopkins said.
Multi-unit sales in August this year were down from their May level by 8.5 per cent.
While detached home sales were up 3.5 per cent in August, they are 5.1 per cent below their peak in April last year.
“We’re forecasting total dwelling commencements to ease back from what we expect to have been the peak level in the financial year just passed, but still remain elevated," Ms Hopkins said.
“The overall developments in both HIA new home sales and the equivalent ABS measure, building approvals, are consistent with our outlook for actual new home building activity in 2015-16," she said.