The total number of building permits issued in Australia in December was down a seasonally adjusted 2.9 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday, standing at 16,141 and falling for the third straight month.
That missed forecasts for a contraction of 0.5 percent following the 1.5 percent decline in November.
On a yearly basis, building permits spiked 21.8 percent - also shy of estimates for an increase of 23.4 percent and down from the 22.2 percent surge in the previous month.
Consents for private sector houses fell 3.4 percent on month and climbed 17.8 percent on month to 8,604. Consents for private sector dwellings excluding houses dropped 1.2 percent on month but surged 29.3 percent on year to 7,353.
The seasonally adjusted estimate of the value of total building approved rose 6.5 percent in December following a fall of 3.9 percent in the previous month. The value of residential building rose 3.4 percent following a fall of 1.5 percent in the previous month. The value of non-residential building rose 11.2 percent following a fall of 7.3 percent in the previous month.
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