Australia's building approvals for April recover some ground

Australia's building approvals for April stood at +4.4% m/m vs 3.0% exp and -10.4% prior (revised from -13.4%), with the yearly reading at -17.2% vs -18.1% exp and -19.9% prior.

KEY POINTS

TOTAL DWELLING UNITS: The trend estimate for total dwellings approved rose 0.8% in March after falling for nine months. The seasonally adjusted estimate for total dwellings approved fell 13.4% in March after rising for two months.

PRIVATE SECTOR HOUSES: The trend estimate for private sector houses approved fell 0.6% in March and has fallen for 12 months. The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector houses fell 4.3% in March following a rise of 5.0% in the previous month.

PRIVATE SECTOR DWELLINGS EXCLUDING HOUSES: The trend estimate for private sector dwellings excluding houses rose 2.2% in March and has risen for three months. The seasonally adjusted estimate for private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 22.5% in March after rising for four months.

VALUE OF BUILDING APPROVED: The trend estimate of the value of total building approved rose 0.1% in March after falling for seven months. The value of residential building rose 1.0% and has risen for three months. The value of non-residential building fell 1.9% and has fallen for seven months. The seasonally adjusted estimate of the value of total building approved fell 15.5% in March following a rise of 22.6% in the previous month. The value of residential building fell 20.8% after rising for four months. The value of non-residential building fell 4.5% following a rise of 36.1% in the previous month.