28 million resident population
In recent hours, Australia's estimated resident population passed 28 million, according to the ABS Population Clock.
Under current assumptions, annual population growth is still running at around 448,000 per annum.
Building approvals slow
Building approvals fell a a further -3.4 per cent in April, to a seasonally adjusted 16,700.
House approvals in New South Wales fell -14 per cent, largely accounting for the monthly drop, but this was coming off the back of a strong prior month.
Overall, trends in home approvals look fairly steady.
Unit approvals in the capital cities also remain steady, if pretty unspectacular.
Much of the strength in attached dwelling approvals in this cycle has been in coastal and regional markets, which now look to be rolling over, in particular for the high-rise sector.
Overall, approximately 200,000 dwellings were approved over the year to April.
While this is a stronger annual result, it does look as though the recent strength in dwelling approvals has now reached a turning point.
The market now has to absorb three 25 basis points interest rate hikes, a very challenging Federal Budget, and scary headlines to boot, with unit approvals now appearing to trend lower.
Finally, over the past 22 months, approvals have consistently been running at about 80 per cent of the government's implied target of 20,000 per month.
Weighing all this up, it looks likely that the housing shortage challenges will remain for longer as higher interest rates weigh on the market for new housing, and population growth continues at elevated levels.
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With Australia recording its first trade deficit since 2017, weaker net trade will subtract -0.8 percentage points from GDP in the March quarter, with market forecasts being revised down to around 0.3 per cent for real GDP growth in Q1.
The Fair Work Commission announced a 4.75 per cent increase in the minimum wage for nearly 3 million award wage earners, keeping real wages in positive territory, but in so doing adding to the case for one more interest rate hike.
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