Attached dwelling approvals have held up in Melbourne, but are trending lower in Sydney, even as the market tightens.
House approvals have well and truly rolled over and are falling across the board, as the stimulus is withdrawn.
The May result beat expectations at 16,400 dwellings approved, but the trend is unmistakably lower.
House approvals are 25 per cent lower than a year earlier, and attached dwellings are 22 per cent lower.
It's been a tough time to sell the concept of high-rise living when lifts have so often been out of action, but Melbourne has still managed it to some extent.
After a burst of 1,300 public sector approvals in March, normal service has been resumed (which is to say, basically zero).
Overall, there is plenty of work still in the pipeline with 200,000 approvals over the past year.
But the trend is lower now, as higher borrowing and construction costs bite hard.
