Melbourne townhouse approvals soften in April as Sydney spikes

Townhome approvals across Melbourne softened over April, but are still higher than they were this time last year, according to according to Archistar’s May National Townhouse and Unit Building Report.

There were 687 townhouses across the Victorian capital approved over April, down from the 895 approved in March.

Sydney went the other way however, with a spike from 699 to 923 approvals.

Since the impact of COVID in early 2020, there's been a strong shift in buyer preference toward townhouses.

Over the last 12 months, only Adelaide and Perth saw less approvals for townhouses. 

Brisbane reported the highest increase in townhouse building approvals over the year ending April 2021, up by 42.9 per cent, followed by Sydney up 14.6 per cent and Melbourne up by one per cent.

Townhouse building approvals however were down by 24.9 per cent for Adelaide and 10.6 per cent for Perth on the same year on year comparisons.

Melbourne reported the highest average per townhouse building cost of $349,032 over April 2021, followed by Perth at $341,500, Brisbane at $282,123, Sydney at $277,494 and Adelaide at $238,286.

Nationally, 6669 higher-density dwellings were approved for building over April, which was the highest April total since 2018.