Building approvals are at a multi-year high

There's good news for anyone in the construction sector, as residential building approvals are at their highest level since 2010.

Australia's Housing Industry Association has released figures that show total residential building approvals increased by 14.4 per cent in September this year compared to August.

HIA Senior Economist Shane Garrett says the multi-unit sector of the construction market is responsible for the growth, rising by 31.8 per cent on August figures. In contrast, there was only a 1.9 per cent rise in detached house approvals during the same period.

"The main message from today's figures is that the RBA's interest rate cuts over the past two years are helping to support activity on the ground," says Garrett.

He also notes that it's important the residential construction growth continues to compensate for the lack of building during the last ten years.  An improvement in growth rates of detached housing approvals would also be welcome, says Garrett.

New South Wales led the charge in September construction approval rates, with a growth of 25.2 per cent. Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia followed, however approvals were flat in the Northern Territory and declined in both the ACT and Tasmania.