Bankwest Housing Density Report: Australia’s medium density housing

Bankwest Housing Density Report: Australia’s medium density housing

Australia’s medium density housing approvals near record high

The number of medium density¹ home approvals across Australia is heading towards an all-time high, according to new research from Bankwest.

The Bankwest Housing Density Report, the latest instalment from the Bankwest Financial Indicator Series, revealed medium density new home approvals are approaching a 20-year high, with 85,323 approvals in the 12 months to November 2014.

While the report revealed a small decrease in the proportion of medium density housing approvals over the short term (43 per cent in 2014 compared with 44 per cent in 2013), the long-term trend shows medium density housing increasing across the nation and remaining well above the average rate of 33.7 per cent over the past 20 years.

Medium density accounts for the majority of new dwelling approvals in almost one third of Australia, exceeding house approvals in 30.4 per cent of all local areas² nationwide.

In the year to November 2014, five capital cities saw medium density the topic of more than half of all housing approvals - Sydney had the highest proportion (64.5 per cent), followed by Darwin (58 per cent), Canberra (57.7 per cent), Brisbane (54.4 per cent) and Melbourne (54 per cent). Hobart had the lowest proportion of medium density approvals (10.5 per cent), followed by Perth (26.8 per cent) and Adelaide (31.9 per cent).