Building Approvals — methodology

What this metric measures

The total number of new residential dwelling units approved for construction each month. A leading indicator of future housing supply — approvals today become completions 12 to 18 months from now.

Why it matters: Building approvals are the earliest signal of housing supply pipeline health. A sustained drop in approvals guarantees a future supply shortfall, putting upward pressure on rents and prices.

Source & provenance

Publisher

ABS

Update frequency

monthly

Licence

CC BY 4.0

How the score is computed

The score is a 0–100 normalisation of the latest observation, compared to a baseline window. The traffic-light rating (RAG) reflects both the absolute level and the recent trend.

Direction

Higher is better

Trend window

60 months

Baseline

Last 10 years

{
  "red_max_pct_of_baseline": 95,
  "amber_min_pct_of_baseline": 95,
  "green_min_pct_of_baseline": 102
}