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A lift in apartment numbers helped push September’s total higher, but industry leaders warn that approvals are only the first step. The total number of dwellings approved rose 5.1% to 17,948, according to the latest seasonally adjusted Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data. Approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses — including apartments and townhouses — rose 16.6% to 6579.
For September 2026, the total number of dwellings approved rose 5.1% to 17,948. Picture: Getty Detached houses went the other way, with private sector approvals falling 5.3% to 10,432. Released monthly, the figures offer an early look at Australia’s future housing supply.
They track approvals, rather than homes that have started construction or are ready to move into. Apartments give approvals a lift The September rise was helped by a stronger month for apartments, particularly in NSW. In original terms, which are not adjusted for seasonal patterns, 4129 apartments were approved nationally — up 25.6% on August and slightly above the monthly average of 4106 over the past year.
NSW accounted for 1995 apartment approvals, compared with 901 a month earlier. Townhouses also had a better month. Approvals rose 8.3% to 2792 in original terms, following a 19.4% decline in August, although the result remained below the 12-month average of 2864.
But the monthly recovery does not tell the whole story. Seasonally adjusted approvals for private dwellings excluding houses were still 20.5% below September last year. Total dwelling approvals were also slightly lower than a year earlier, down 0.8%.
House approvals slip after a stronger August For detached houses, September brought the biggest monthly decline in private sector approvals since August 2025, the ABS said. The fall followed a 5.4% rise in August, with approvals down across the states. Even so, private house approvals remained 9.6% higher than a year earlier.
“Despite this drop, it is the ninth consecutive month where more than 10,000 private sector houses have been approved across Australia,” ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi said. There was also a clear divide between the states when all housing types were counted. Total dwelling approvals rose 37.3% in NSW and 28% in Queensland.
They fell in Victoria, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia, down 28.9%, 25.7%, 8.7% and 3.2% respectively. Getting homes built Australia is working towards delivering 1.2 million new homes by mid-2029 under the National Housing Accord. As recent building activity figures showed , a lift in the pipeline still needs to flow through to construction and completed homes.
Property Council chief executive Mike Zorbas said the industry needed to overcome the financial and practical barriers that can hold up an approved project. “We need to make sure every possible approval becomes a home,” he said. “That means getting finance and investment flowing, delivering enabling infrastructure and dealing with the costly maze of post-approval processes that stop project lift-off.” Master Builders Australia chief economist Shane Garrett said the stronger September result came against a less certain outlook for builders.
“While it is positive to see approvals move higher, builders’ forward books are becoming increasingly uncertain,” he said. “Our recently released forecasts show that new home building activity will decline steadily over the coming years and will be substantially lower than anticipated just six months ago.” Are you interested in the latest in buying and building new? Check out our New Homes section.
Source: Real Estate
