Total dwelling approvals fell 6.1 per cent in August. Underneath that number, detached house approvals climbed to 10,885, the strongest month since August 2021, while townhouse and apartment approvals fell away sharply.
The headline number from the Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning points down. Total dwelling approvals fell 6.1 per cent in August to 16,953, seasonally adjusted.
For anyone building detached homes, that headline tells the wrong story. Private sector house approvals rose 3.7 per cent to 10,885. That is the highest monthly figure since August 2021, and 18.4 per cent higher than August last year.
The fall came entirely from the other side of the market. Approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses, the category that covers townhouses, terraces, semis and apartments, fell 21.2 per cent to 5,674.
Houses and units moved in opposite directions in August
The ABS head of construction statistics, Daniel Rossi, noted that August was the eighth month in a row with more than 10,000 private sector houses approved across the country.
The trend measure, which smooths out the monthly noise, backs that up. Trend house approvals rose 0.5 per cent to 10,749, the highest level since September 2021.
Trend approvals for other dwellings fell 2.6 per cent to 7,105. That was enough to pull the trend total down 0.8 per cent to 18,202. On current estimates, it is the first monthly fall in the trend total since January 2025.
On our calculation from the ABS series, houses made up 64.2 per cent of all dwellings approved in August. A year earlier the figure was 59.8 per cent.
The fall came entirely from the other side of the market.
Queensland apartments explain most of the unit fall
The ABS said Queensland led the drop in apartment approvals. In original terms, the state approved 337 apartments in August, down from 1,330 in July.
Nationally, apartment approvals fell 24.9 per cent to 3,268 in original terms. That is 19.8 per cent below the average of the past twelve months. Townhouse approvals also fell, down 20.7 per cent to 2,546.
That flowed straight into the state totals. Seasonally adjusted dwelling approvals in Queensland fell 22.5 per cent to 3,327. New South Wales fell 17.3 per cent to 3,896.
Elsewhere the direction was up. South Australia rose 24.0 per cent to 1,701, Victoria rose 8.9 per cent to 5,163 and Western Australia rose 3.2 per cent to 2,395. Tasmania eased 1.5 per cent.
Apartment numbers are the most volatile series in the release. One large project approved, or not approved, can swing a state total in a single month. A month like this says more about timing than about demand.
Seasonally adjusted or trend?
Seasonally adjusted figures strip out regular calendar effects, such as the Christmas slowdown, but still carry one off swings like a large apartment approval. Trend figures smooth those swings to show the underlying direction. The ABS revises trend estimates as each new month of data arrives, so the latest trend points can move.
House approvals rose in every state except New South Wales
South Australia recorded the biggest lift, up 27.7 per cent to 1,036 houses after a 12.8 per cent fall in July. Western Australia rose 8.6 per cent to 1,895 and Queensland rose 6.5 per cent to 2,456.
Victoria edged up 0.5 per cent to 3,044. It remains the largest detached market by a distance, approving about 40 per cent more houses than New South Wales in August on our calculation.
New South Wales was the only state where house approvals fell, down 4.5 per cent to 2,167. It was also the only state with a falling trend, down 0.8 per cent. On the trend measure, Western Australia led the gains at 2.1 per cent, followed by South Australia at 1.8 per cent. The ABS does not publish this series for Tasmania or the territories.
July was revised up, and the picture changed with it
The first estimate for July had total approvals down 3.6 per cent and house approvals down 4.2 per cent to 10,199. Those numbers have now been revised to 18,056 total dwellings and 10,493 houses. Both are now falls of 1.9 per cent.
The revised state data also shifted. New South Wales and Western Australia house approvals now show small rises for July rather than falls.
Revisions are routine in this release. They are also a reminder that a single month, especially a first estimate, is a weak basis for reading a turning point.
The value of building approved fell on non residential work
The total value of building approved fell 21.3 per cent to $16.82 billion. Almost all of that came from non residential building, which fell 44.8 per cent to $5.53 billion. That followed a July result the ABS describes as the second highest non residential value on record.
Residential value barely moved. It slipped 0.6 per cent to $11.30 billion, with new residential work down 0.5 per cent to $10.02 billion and alterations and additions down 2.1 per cent to $1.28 billion.
The twelve month count is still short of the target pace
On our sum of the seasonally adjusted monthly figures, 208,181 dwellings were approved in the twelve months to August. That is 9.1 per cent more than the twelve months before. House approvals over the same period rose 9.6 per cent to 122,015.
Set against the arithmetic of the national 1.2 million homes target, roughly 240,000 a year, approvals are running at about 87 per cent of the pace. The target counts completed homes, not approvals, so this is a leading signal rather than a scorecard.
Approvals also do not guarantee work. Finance, contracts, site conditions and trade availability all sit between a permit and a slab, and the gap between approvals and commencements has been wide this year.
That stretch between an approval and a start is also where cash flow for building businesses tends to come under the most pressure.
The Good Builder Take
Strip out the apartment swing and August is a strong month for detached housing. Eight months above 10,000 is no longer a blip. It is a level.
The unit market is doing what it usually does, which is lurch. The number worth watching is the trend line for houses, and on today’s data that line is still rising, just more slowly in New South Wales than anywhere else.
A house led year, with the units still to settle
August confirms a split that has been building all year. Detached approvals are carrying the pipeline while the higher density side moves in bursts.
For the wider picture of how approvals fit into Australian construction industry trends, including labour, costs and forecasts, the numbers from here matter more than any single month. The small area data on 7 October will show exactly which councils drove August, including where the Queensland apartments went.
We unpack the numbers behind the headlines every week on The Good Builder Podcast. Follow along for the builder side of the story.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, in total. The ABS reported total dwelling approvals fell 6.1 per cent to 16,953 in seasonally adjusted terms. The fall came from townhouses and apartments, which dropped 21.2 per cent. Private sector house approvals rose 3.7 per cent over the same month.
The ABS recorded 10,885 private sector house approvals in August 2026, seasonally adjusted. That is the highest monthly figure since August 2021, 18.4 per cent higher than August 2025, and the eighth month in a row above 10,000.
The ABS said Queensland led the fall. In original terms, Queensland recorded 337 apartment approvals in August against 1,330 in July. Nationally, apartment approvals fell 24.9 per cent to 3,268 in original terms. Apartment numbers are volatile because a single large project can move a state total in one month.
Seasonally adjusted figures remove regular calendar effects but still carry one off swings, such as a large apartment project. Trend figures smooth those swings to show the underlying direction. Trend estimates are revised as each new month of data arrives.
The ABS is scheduled to release small area data for August, covering local government areas and SA2 regions, on 7 October 2026. The September 2026 national release is scheduled for 2 November 2026.
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- Where Australia’s Next Wave of New Homes Is Actually Being Approved
- The Approvals Are There. The Starts Are Not.
Last updated 30 September 2026. Building approvals figures are revised by the ABS in subsequent releases.
General information only. This article is general industry commentary and does not constitute financial, commercial, legal or professional guidance. All figures are drawn from the Australian Bureau of Statistics release Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026, published 30 September 2026, and the accompanying ABS media release. Figures are seasonally adjusted unless described as trend or original terms. Twelve month totals and shares described as our calculations are derived from the published ABS series and are not official ABS aggregates. Readers should seek independent guidance relevant to their own circumstances.
Author: TGB Editorial
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