Australian housing approvals sink to lowest level in 12 years amid rising costs and planning delays

The country’s soaring population has seen housing density rise to four people per new dwelling approval – more than double 1985 numbers. Photograph: tap10/Getty Images

Hopes the Albanese government will be able to revive housing construction are fading fast as new approvals sink to the lowest number in more than a decade, while soaring costs threaten to place any homes that are built out of reach for many.

December recorded a drop in dwelling approvals of almost 10% from November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday. Approvals for apartments sank 25.3%. For the full year, approvals totalled about 162,200 – the lowest annual rate since March 2013, according to NAB.