Queensland Approved Just 337 Apartments in August, Down From 1,330
Houses are holding up nationally. Apartment approvals are not, and Queensland's monthly count fell by about three quarters.
Queensland approved 337 apartments in August, down from 1,330 in July, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) building approvals release on 30 September.
Nationally, total dwelling approvals fell 6.1 per cent to 16,953 in seasonally adjusted terms. Private sector house approvals rose 3.7 per cent to 10,885, while approvals for private dwellings excluding houses, mostly apartments and townhouses, fell 21.2 per cent to 5,674.
Why it matters
Monthly apartment approvals are volatile because a single large tower can swing the total. Even so, a fall from 1,330 to 337 in Queensland means far fewer new apartment projects cleared approval in August, at a time when developers face falling prices and a higher cash rate.
ABS head of construction statistics Daniel Rossi said approvals for private dwellings excluding houses “fell by 21.2 per cent in August, after a 0.8 per cent rise in July.”
For builders and trades, the split matters. Detached houses remain steady: the ABS said this was the eighth month in a row with more than 10,000 private sector houses approved nationally. The weakness is in multi-unit work, which is where South East Queensland’s infill pipeline sits.
The numbers
ABS release, August 2026 (national figures seasonally adjusted):
- Australia: 16,953 dwellings, down 6.1 per cent.
- Australia: 5,674 private dwellings excluding houses, down 21.2 per cent.
- Total value of building approved: $16.82 billion, down 21.3 per cent.
- Queensland: 3,327 dwellings, including 2,456 private houses and 337 apartments.
The Queensland Government Statistician’s Office uses the smoother trend series, which tells a steadier story. On trend, Queensland approved 4,462 dwellings in August, up 1.0 per cent on July and 18.2 per cent on a year earlier, against national trend growth of 9.1 per cent. The trend value of residential work approved in Queensland fell 3.4 per cent to $2,600.6 million.
The two series measure differently and should not be compared directly.
What’s next
September approvals will show whether August was a one-month gap in large projects or the start of a slide in apartment approvals. More national data and Brisbane market coverage.
What we checked
What we checked ourselves, and where you can check it too.
- Public recordQGSO's trend series shows Queensland approved 4,462 dwellings in August, up 1.0% on July and 18.2% on a year earlier, and accounted for 24.5% of national dwelling approvals.View the record on qgso.qld.gov.au