Total dwelling approvals rose 5.1 per cent in September on a rebound in apartments. Underneath, house approvals fell in every state, and the trend that carried detached building through 2026 grew at its slowest pace of the year.

The headline from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reads like a good month. Total dwelling approvals rose 5.1 per cent in September to 17,948, seasonally adjusted.

That rise came from apartments and townhouses. Private sector house approvals went the other way, falling 5.3 per cent to 10,432, and they fell in every state the ABS publishes.

For builders in detached housing, the more useful signal sits in the trend series. It is still rising. It is just rising more slowly every month.

House approvals fell in every state in September

South Australia recorded the largest fall in house approvals at 7.8 per cent. Victoria fell 6.0 per cent, New South Wales 5.5 per cent, Queensland 5.1 per cent and Western Australia 4.6 per cent.

The ABS head of construction statistics, Daniel Rossi, said it was the largest monthly fall in house approvals since August 2025.

The fall comes off a strong August. Revised ABS figures now put August at 11,013 houses, which on our reading of the series was the highest monthly result since August 2021. September is still the ninth month in a row above 10,000, and house approvals remain 9.6 per cent higher than a year earlier.

It is also the second time in three months that every state has gone backwards. House approvals did the same in July, before rebounding in August.

The house approvals trend has slowed every month this year

Seasonally adjusted figures swing from month to month. The trend series smooths that noise and is the better guide to direction.

In trend terms, private sector house approvals rose 0.1 per cent in September to 10,687. That followed growth of 0.3 per cent in August.

Our analysis of the ABS trend series shows the monthly growth rate has eased in every month of 2026. It was about 1.8 per cent in January, around 0.8 per cent by May and 0.1 per cent in September.

The trend is still rising. It is just rising more slowly every month.

That is not a downturn. Trend house approvals are 13.4 per cent higher than a year ago and, on our reading, at their highest level since September 2021. But a series that climbed hard through the first half of the year is now levelling out.

Seasonally adjusted versus trend

Seasonally adjusted figures strip out regular calendar patterns, such as the quieter summer holiday period, but still carry month to month swings from large one off projects. Trend figures smooth those swings to show the underlying direction. The ABS revises both as new months arrive, and the most recent trend points tend to move the most.

Where the house trend is still growing and where it is not

By state, the trend split is clearer than the monthly falls. Trend house approvals rose 1.9 per cent in Western Australia, 1.8 per cent in South Australia and 0.4 per cent in Queensland.

They fell 1.8 per cent in New South Wales and 0.1 per cent in Victoria.

Victoria remains the largest house market by volume, with 3,012 trend approvals in September, ahead of Queensland at 2,432 and New South Wales at 2,123. The ABS does not publish trend house figures for Tasmania, the Northern Territory or the ACT.

Apartments in New South Wales drove the headline rise

Private sector dwellings excluding houses, which covers semi detached homes, townhouses and apartments, rose 16.6 per cent to 6,579. That came after a 21.7 per cent fall in August.

In original terms, apartment approvals rose 25.6 per cent to 4,129. The ABS said New South Wales led the increase, with 1,995 apartments approved in September compared with 901 in August.

That shows in the state totals. Total dwelling approvals rose 37.3 per cent in New South Wales and 28.0 per cent in Queensland. They fell 28.9 per cent in Victoria, 25.7 per cent in Tasmania, 8.7 per cent in Western Australia and 3.2 per cent in South Australia.

Townhouse approvals rose 8.3 per cent to 2,792 in original terms, still below their twelve month average of 2,864.

Apartment approvals arrive in large blocks, so a few big projects can swing a month. Seasonally adjusted approvals for dwellings excluding houses are still 20.5 per cent lower than September last year.

The value of new residential work approved fell

The value of residential building approved fell 2.8 per cent to $11.06 billion. New residential work fell 3.3 per cent to $9.74 billion, while alterations and additions rose 0.8 per cent to $1.32 billion.

Total building approved rose 13.0 per cent to $19.02 billion, but that was carried by non residential work, up 45.9 per cent to $7.96 billion after a 45.5 per cent fall in August. In trend terms, non residential value fell 1.1 per cent.

Approvals are still running below the Housing Accord pace

Governments have committed to 1.2 million new well located homes over five years from 1 July 2024 under the National Housing Accord. Spread evenly, that averages 20,000 homes a month.

Trend approvals in September were 18,705, on our reading the highest since July 2021. Approvals are permission to build, not completed homes, and not every approval becomes a start. Even at its current level, the approvals pipeline is running below the monthly average the target implies.

What September tells builders about the months ahead

Approvals sit at the front of the pipeline, ahead of commencements and completions. September does not reverse the 2026 run in detached housing. House approvals are still above 10,000 a month and well up on last year.

What has changed is momentum. The trend has gone from adding close to 2 per cent a month in January to barely moving in September, with New South Wales and Victoria now flat or easing.

For builders reading their own pipeline against the national numbers, the gap between states says more about how the wider construction market is moving than the national headline does. Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland are still growing in trend terms. The two largest eastern markets are not.

The Good Builder Take

A slowing trend is not a falling one. Detached approvals are still sitting at levels the industry has not seen since 2021.

The signal worth watching is the state split. If New South Wales and Victoria keep easing while the west and Queensland hold, the national number will flatten even as some regions stay busy. The October data, due 1 December, will show whether September was a pause or the start of a turn.

The ABS releases its council and suburb level approvals data for September on 9 November, which will show exactly where the New South Wales apartment approvals landed. We will unpack it then, and Az and the team will talk through the numbers on The Good Builder Podcast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Articles

• House Approvals Reach Their Highest Level Since 2021 as Unit Approvals Drop Away
• House Approvals Fell in Every State in July. The National Total Still Held Above 10,000 for a Seventh Month.
• The Approvals Are There. The Starts Are Not. What the Latest ABS Data Really Shows.

Last updated 3 November 2026. Data: ABS Building Approvals, Australia, September 2026, released 2 November 2026. Seasonally adjusted unless stated. Building approvals figures are revised by the ABS in subsequent releases.

General information only. This article is for general information and does not constitute financial, legal or business advice. Readers should seek professional advice relevant to their circumstances before making decisions based on this information.

Author: TGB Editorial