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Canberra Today 11°/15° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

ACT building approvals slump

catherine carter

THE ACT Executive Director of the Property Council, Catherine Carter, says ABS Building Approvals numbers for December 2014 have hit record highs nationally, but the ACT has failed to share in the growth in jobs and economic activity that other states have received.

201,025 ABS Building Approvals were recorded across 2014, breaking the 200,000 annual mark for the first time and delivering 50,000 more approvals than in recent years. By contrast, the ACT results show a drop of 21.7% on 2013 levels.

“Hitting record numbers of building approvals nationally is great news for the residential sector, but the ACT is clearly missing its time in the sun,” Catherine said.

“311 dwellings were approved in December, with a total 3877 homes approved for the full year ending December 2014. This sees the pipeline for ACT residential activity tick over but falls well short compared to other states such as Queensland, New South Wales or Victoria.

“The ACT is simply not benefitting from domestic and foreign investment at the moment, however there is potential to share in national infrastructure and planning reform in 2015 which will help increase residential development activity.

“The Property Council will be firmly focused on working with the Territory government to achieve planning reform which integrates our infrastructure needs and drives investment in the region.

“We have a golden opportunity to claim our share of the national gains being achieved for jobs, community prosperity and housing affordability when the residential development industry is at its best,” said Ms Carter.

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