The number of buildings approved in September has jumped at twice the pace of economist forecasts, according to official figures, but the trend rate for approvals, which smoothes out volatile figures, has fallen for a seventh straight month.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed the number of buildings approved rose a seasonally adjusted 2.2 per cent in the month to a total of 18,900 dwellings.
Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a 1 per cent rise in approvals.
The result follows a surprisingly large 6.9 per cent fall in approvals during August -- three times faster than forecasts.
The September approvals are still well below March's high-water mark of 19,419 dwellings.
In trend terms, which strip out month-to-month volatility, housing approvals have increased 6.8 per cent over the year to September, after shrinking 1.8 per cent in the month.
The trend rate has now fallen for seven straight months, at a time when the Reserve Bank of Australia is trying to stimulate the economy with record-low interest rates.
It's another sign of a housing market being taken off the boiler, and prompting concerns about a collapse in house prices. This morning's RP data showed the pace of housing price growth was under pressure from record-low rental yields.
The latest figures from CoreLogic RP Data show that over the month of October dwelling values across the combined capital city index lifted 0.2 per cent, leaving the year to-date gains at 10.1 per cent, down on September’s 11 per cent annual growth rate.
The rise in building approvals in September was driven by a lift in the approval of apartment blocks and townhouses, a volatile figure representing the bulk approval rate for apartment towers.
The figure jumped 6.1 per cent, in seasonally adjusted terms, during the month, to 9,134 dwellings, after logging an 11.4 per cent slump the month prior.
Meanwhile, the number of detached homes approved was weaker, falling 1.9 per cent to 9,536 in September.
Over the 12 months to September, total building approvals were up 21.4 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the ABS said.
Over the same period apartment approvals have risen 53.5 per cent, while approvals for private sector houses have lifted 1.5 per cent, on a seasonally adjusted basis.