Aussies lose interest in higher-density living

In contrast, unit building approvals were down by 10 per cent over the same period, with the annual trend continuing to decline, according to Archistar chief economist Dr Andrew Wilson.

Overall, the residential development market share of higher-density approvals accounted for a decade-low 27.4 per cent in January 2021, falling from the previous month’s 29 per cent.

“Building approvals for higher-density homes continue to decline despite ongoing strong activity in low-density house building, driven particularly by the federal government’s HomeBuilder initiative,” Dr Wilson explained.

However, units still stand ahead of townhouses in terms of the total number of building approvals.

As of January 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) found that there were 36,096 unit buildings approved across the country, and only 26,840 townhouse buildings approved.

Closer look: Townhouses

Brisbane reported the highest increase in townhouse building approvals over the year at 23.5 per cent, followed by Melbourne with 6.1 per cent and Sydney with 1.7 per cent.

On the other hand, Adelaide and Perth saw declines of 16.1 per cent and 21.3 per cent, respectively.

Despite recording the highest annual growth rate, Brisbane saw the lowest number of buildings approved in January 2021 at only 36. This was followed by Perth (89), Adelaide (133), Sydney (259) and Melbourne (497).

Overall, Melbourne now has the highest number of townhouse building approvals at 8,930, followed by Sydney with 4,863, Brisbane with 3,142, Adelaide with 1,4222 and Canberra with 1,227. Meanwhile, Hobart and Darwin only have 24 and four townhouse buildings approved, respectively.

In terms of average cost per approval, Melbourne and Sydney took out the top spots with $37,988 and $356,247, respectively. The most affordable approval cost can be found in Adelaide at $205,729.

Over the year, Queensland and Victoria dominated the list of top-performing LGAs for townhouse building approvals, according to figures from the ABS.

Brisbane emerged in the top spot with 1,260 approvals, followed by ACT with 1,230, Moreton Bay (Qld) with 874, Blacktown (NSW) with 774 and Logan (Qld) with 667, Canterbury-Bankstown (NSW) with 651, Gold Coast (Qld) with 589, Moreland (Vic) with 578, Darebin (Vic) with 557 and Monash (Vic) with 541.

Closer look: Units

In stark contrast with townhouse figures, unit building approvals declined across all capital cities over the year ending January 2021.

Adelaide recorded the largest decline at 37.4 per cent, followed by Melbourne and Sydney with 11.9 per cent, Perth with 4.8 per cent and Brisbane with 2.5 per cent.

In January 2021, Sydney recorded the highest number of unit buildings approved at 1,055, followed by Brisbane with 273, Melbourne with 221, Adelaide with 104 and Perth with 42.

Overall, Sydney holds the highest number of unit buildings approved at 12,533, followed by Melbourne (10,863), Brisbane (2,802), Canberra (2,088), Perth (1,982), Adelaide (731) and Darwin (30).

Average cost per approval was highest in Brisbane at $401,330 and lowest in Perth at $277,190.

Looking into LGAs, Melbourne dominated the top 10 list for unit building approvals, with a total of 3,704 unit buildings approved.

This was followed by Brisbane (Qld) with 2,690, Canberra (ACT) with 2,239, Dubbo Regional (NSW) with 1,529, Blacktown (NSW) with 1,369, Gold Coast (Qld) with 1,283, Georges River (NSW) with 1,254, Yarra (Vic) with 1,247, Sydney with 1,198 and Port Phillip (Vic) with 1,198.