There were 9,900 detached houses approved for construction nationally in the month of January 2026, the strongest monthly result since September 2022.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released its monthly building approvals data for January 2026 for detached houses and multi-units covering all states and territories.
Housing Industry Association chief economist, Tim Reardon, said the pickup in detached house approvals in January was driven by increases in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.
“Housing demand in Australia remains robust, amid low levels of unemployment and strong levels of population growth,” he said.
“Renovations have also been a strong segment of the market, responding to this high demand. In the 12 months to January 2026, council-approved renovation work increased by 5.4 per cent to $1.265 billion.”
In seasonally adjusted terms, Western Australia saw the largest increase in detached house approvals in the month of January 2026, up by 12.8 per cent compared to December. This was followed by Queensland (+2.9 per cent) and New South Wales (+1.2 per cent).
Reardon said multi-unit approvals, which include semi-detached dwellings and apartments, remain volatile on a month-to-month basis.
Multi-unit approvals decreased by 21.0 per cent in the month of January 2026, to 4,670.
“This result was driven by monthly declines in multi-unit approvals across all jurisdictions, except for Western Australia,” he said.
“The poor result in January 2026 does not significantly diminish the upwards trend in multi-unit approvals over the past 12 months, which have increased by 21.0 per cent to 79,130.
“The upwards trajectory in new dwelling approvals across Australia is notable, with a 9.2 per cent increase over the past 12 months to 193,480.”
This is good news for those working in the HVACR industry which has seen demand for air conditioners and heat pumps remain strong.
It’s hard to imagine but in the year 1999 35 per cent of Australian homes had air conditioning. By 2010, it was 70 per cent.
Today, it is a rarity to find a home without air conditioning. According to Cold Hard Facts (CHF) 4 research, sales of single split systems including wall hung, cassette, and consoles reached 1.14 million units in 2022.
In fact, single split systems are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around four per cent through to the year 2036.
Australia is also experiencing a surge of domestic heat pump sales that is expected to continue at least into the mid-2030s as they continue to replace gas appliances in both existing and new buildings.