Builders confident despite approvals dip

Builders are confident the residential building boom has some way to run despite the 8.2 per cent fall in building approvals for June 2015.

“Some moderation in approvals is to be expected in the mature phase of the cycle,” Peter Jones, Chief Economist said.

“However the fall in approvals for June was mainly driven by the topsy-turvy nature of high rise apartment projects,” he said.

“The 4.3 per cent rise in approvals for detached houses is encouraging and can contribute to reducing the housing shortage,” Peter Jones said.

“We will need to wait to see the effect of the authorities’ crack-down on lending to investors, but Master Builders does not believe a crash is imminent,” he said.

“Nevertheless, while residential building continues to be the hero of the economy, the onus must be on regulators maintaining a ‘light touch’ on policy levers,” Peter Jones  said.