Positive building approvals again for Queensland
Published: 2 February 2012
The latest round of Building Approvals figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics have revealed more positive news for Queensland’s building industry, according to Master Builders, Queensland’s peak body for housing and construction.
Master Builders Director of Housing Policy, Paul Bidwell said that the December 2011 figures build on last month’s improvement, with private sector house approvals rising by 4.7% (seasonally adjusted) and total dwelling unit approvals rising by 24.6% (seasonally adjusted).
“The Queensland figures are in contrast to national figures, which saw private sector house approvals rise by just 0.2% (seasonally adjusted) and total dwelling unit approvals drop by 1.9% (seasonally adjusted),” said Mr Bidwell.
“While it is not wise to compare month by month figures, we are attributing the growth in Queensland to the combination of work generated by the Building Boost Grant and rebuilding after 2011’s natural disasters.
“However, we must put these figures into perspective and remember that Queensland private sector house approvals fell 21.5% from 20,502 in 2010 to 16,094 in 2011, which means our industry is a long way from a full recovery.
“With the interest rate cuts in November and December 2011 and the extension of the Building Boost Grant until 30 April 2012, we’re anticipating further growth in housing construction throughout 2012, providing economic conditions in Queensland withstand the turbulent global outlook.
“The key to long-term recovery is improving consumer confidence, so we believe poor performing national figures and the need to continually stoke this emerging growth, add to our industry’s call for a further rate cut when the Reserve Bank of Australia meets on 7 February 2012.”
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