ACT Building Approvals Plunge to 20-Year Low
ABS building approvals data for May shows just 107 new dwellings were approved in the ACT – up from 84 in April, but well below March’s figure of 681, and well under the 350 a month needed to meet the ACT’s National Housing Accord target.
Property Council ACT & Capital Region Executive Director Ashlee Berry said that with only June numbers remaining to be seen, total approvals for 2024-25 currently sit at just 2,036.
“The last time annual approvals fell this low was in 2005-06 – the alarm bells should be deafening,” Ms Berry said.
“We are looking down the barrel of a serious housing pipeline problem.
“Approvals are falling off a cliff, projects are being shelved, and we’re on track for the lowest housing delivery in 20 years.”
Ms Berry said the ACT had the right ingredients for improvement – zoning reforms on the table and an industry ready to deliver – but that confidence was being undermined.
“The Government says it wants more homes, but last week’s Budget told a different story. You can’t build confidence while you’re hiking taxes and rates and making it more difficult – not easier – to build the homes Canberra needs” she said.
“We’ve got a housing system full of ambition but stuck in neutral. Projects aren’t stacking up. Builders and investors will be looking elsewhere.”
Ms Berry welcomed the Government’s formal establishment of the new City and Environment Directorate this week, and the promise of a Development Solutions unit focused on unblocking housing delivery.
“We’re encouraged by the reset and the creation of Development Solutions, but we can’t wait a day longer to turn things around. It takes years for homes to be delivered after approval, and we’re already falling badly behind,” she said.
“We need a system that matches the ambition. That means certainty, fast decisions, and genuine partnership with the industry ready to get on with the job.”
https://www.propertycouncil.com.au/media-releases/act-building-approvals-collapse-to-two-decade-low