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Building approvals have fallen to a 13-month low after recording sharp drops in September.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that 15,004 dwelling units were approved in September. That represented a 13.4 per cent drop on the year before.
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Private sector house approvals reached 9,134 – up 8.6 per cent on the previous year.
However, approvals for private sector dwellings excluding houses fell 34.4 per cent to 5,685.
Housing Industry Association senior economist Shane Garrett said the statistics provided further evidence that the new homebuilding cycle may have peaked.
"Monthly approvals reached over 17,000 earlier in the year. During September, we barely hit 15,000," he said.
"The reduction in new homebuilding is probably an indication of the patchy state of the labour market, as well as increased consumer woes post-federal Budget."
However, Master Builders Australia chief economist Peter Jones said builders remain confident.
"The residential building upturn looks set to hold at strong levels as apartment approvals take a breather after the previous red-hot growth phase," he said.
Mr Jones said the decline in building approvals was driven by a fall in units and apartments, due mainly to the longer lead times in gaining approvals for apartment developments.
"Builders will be looking for a lift in approvals for detached houses to keep momentum in the housing upswing," he said.
"In the three months to September, the number of approvals topped 50,000 for an annualised 200,000, following on from the 194,000 recorded in financial year 2013/2014."
[Related: Building approvals for August]
