Australia's new home approvals slow for fourth month

According to The Australian Financial Review today, approvals of new homes slowed for a fourth straight month in the year to February, as new apartments and townhouses came off their recent highs.
Local planning authorities approved a seasonally adjusted 232,194 new dwellings in the 12-month period, down from 234,002 in the year to January and well down on October's record 239,252 approvals.
While approvals of standalone houses have been consistent – they stood at 117,078 in February compared with the 118,000 level they danced above much of last year – the slowdown in approvals of denser housing types has become clear.
Over the year to February, the number of new apartments, townhouses and semi-detached dwellings stood at 115,115, well down on the record 120,953 they chalked up in October.
Approvals in the year to February fell in the two largest states of NSW and Victoria, notwithstanding a 14.4 per cent month-on-month increase in NSW, where the figures were buoyed by a 32 per cent monthly jump in volatile apartment approvals. Apartment approvals in Victoria fell 22 per cent in February from January.
Queensland showed a pick-up in both monthly and yearly approval numbers.

Ref: http://www.afr.com/real-estate/australias-new-home-approvals-slow-for-fourth-consecutive-month-20160404-gnxnl8
  If you want to read this article in Japanese, please see the following link:

http://www.j-abc.com/jp-blog/-41