Approvals for new residential housing in New South Wales has hit an all-time high, according to official figures.
The figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show 6,545 new housing developments were in approved in July.
Chris Johnson, the CEO of property development lobby Urban Taskforce, said the drive was driven by an uplift in apartment approvals.
“The apartment market is taking over NSW and Sydney housing numbers with 4,178 approvals in July compared to 2,367 house approvals. Apartments are clearly the way of the future in terms of urban living in Sydney and NSW towns,” Johnson said.
“The uplift in apartment approvals compares to 5,495 approvals in November 2015 when NSW was slowing down with approvals. The apartment market can go up and down as big projects get approved in a particular month.”
The approvals data will come as welcome news to the Eastern seaboard state which has been facing undersupply issues. However, Johnson warns that the data isn’t always as it seems.
“While approvals are looking good for NSW this does not necessarily mean that they will all convert to completions as further detailed approvals are required from concurrence agencies and the buyer market may slow down,” he said.
