Industry experts have stated that building approvals are heading in the wrong direction at a time when communities are crying out for more housing.

“We can see the impact of rising interest rates in the homebuilding market and, without appropriate fiscal measures at a federal and state level, we will continue to see further softening in the housing pipeline,” Master Builders Australia (MBA) chief executive officer Denita Wawn says.

“Home building over the first three months of 2023 show approvals at their lowest level in a decade.”

MBA chief economist Shane Garrett claims the total volume of new home building approvals was relatively flat at -0.1% in March compared with February but continues to follow a downward trend since September last year.

“Concerningly, the inflow of new work remains significantly lower compared with a year ago, having retreated by 17.3%,” Shane says.

“New detached house building approvals weakened again by -2.9%, a 15.0% reduction compared to a year ago.

“While there was a small uptick in higher-density home building in March it’s far too early to say whether this is the beginning of a much-needed recovery given multi-unit approvals are still at their lowest levels since 2012.”

Denita states the government has an opportunity in the budget to be fiscally responsible and target measures to alleviate the housing crisis.

“The budget needs to ensure that carefully targeted spending boosts productivity for business and allows for more favourable outcomes when it comes to the cost, quality and quantity of building and construction output,” Denita says.

“Parliament has an opportunity to send the right signal and kick-start a vital piece of housing reform.

“We know some members of the crossbench are looking for more funding, and while that would be welcome, it cannot come at the expense of doing nothing at all as each month of building data heads in reverse.”