The number of buildings approved surged in October, smashing economist forecasts, boosted by a substantial rise in apartment approvals.
But the trend result for building approvals, which smooths out month-to-month volatility in the official data, has continued to show a prolonged decline in the sector.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed the number of buildings approved rose a seasonally adjusted 3.9 per cent in the month to a total of 19,652 dwellings.
Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted a 2.5 per cent decline.
The number of building approvals was still below July's high-water mark of 20,642 dwellings.
The surprise October gain 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 10.6 per cent during the month, to 10,091 dwellings, after logging a large jump the month prior.
Meanwhile, the number of detached homes approved was weaker, falling 2.1 per cent to 9,349 in October.
Over the 12 months to October, total building approvals were up 12.3 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the ABS said.
Apartment approvals have risen 29.6 per cent over the same period, while approvals for private sector houses have fallen 1.9 per cent, on a seasonally adjusted basis.
In trend terms, housing approvals have increased 5.1 per cent over the year to October, after shrinking 0.6 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.
This morning's CoreLogic RP Data showed the pace of housing price growth was under pressure from record-low rental yields.
The RP Data figures showed that over the month of October dwelling values across the combined capital city index declined 1.5 per cent, leaving the year to-date growth at 8.7 per cent, down from a high of 11.5 per cent in April last year.