THE first ABS building approvals update for 2013 indicates that new home building activity will this year fall short of both RBA expectations and the Australian economy's requirements, said the Housing Industry Association.
"Building approvals in January 2013 fell for a second consecutive month, dropping back below the 13,000 mark," said HIA Chief Economist, Harley Dale.
"The headline January decline of 2.4 per cent would have been weaker if there hadn't been a 3.3 per cent rise in detached house approvals, a component that continues to miss the mark overall. Even with that monthly rise, approvals for detached houses were still down by 1.0 per cent over the three months to January."