Building approvals rise 10.8% in July APPROVALS for the construction of new homes rose 10.8 per cent across Australia in July, official figures show. Local councils approved the construction of 14,304 new homes, including houses, townhouses and apartments in multi-unit buildings, in July. That compares to 12,912 approvals in June, seasonally adjusted. Over the year to July, building approvals were up 28.3 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. Economists had forecast a rise of 4.0 per cent in approvals for July.