ACT housing approvals fell almost 34 per cent in July, recording the sharpest decline in the country, according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.

The ABS data shows 257 homes were approved in the ACT during July, down from 387 in June, a fall of 33.6 per cent.

Property Council ACT and Capital Region executive director Ashlee Berry said monthly figures could be volatile but the decline highlighted the need for a more consistent pipeline of housing projects.

“Monthly approval numbers will rise and fall, but the direction of travel matters. We need a stronger and more reliable pipeline if we are going to convert housing demand into completed homes,” Ms Berry said.

She said approvals alone would not deliver additional housing, with construction costs, financing conditions, taxes, charges and approval delays affecting whether projects proceeded to construction.

Ms Berry called for policies that improved project feasibility and faster, more consistent approval processes, arguing new costs or regulation could make developments harder to deliver.

She said the challenge over the remaining three years of the Housing Accord was to maintain the project pipeline while ensuring approved developments were financially viable and progressed to construction.

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