I’ve written before about how residential building development is being concentrated in a few former commercial areas in the inner city and outer suburban areas such as North Lakes and Springfield (Where is residential development occurring in the Brisbane metro area?). This pattern was confirmed by the most recent building approvals data (for the 11 months to May 2014) released by the ABS last week (see map below). As before, I’m a bit concerned about the pattern of approvals and I wonder if there might be a better spread of approvals across Brisbane suburbs if heritage restrictions were relaxed.

Another thing I found interesting in last week’s new building approvals data was what appears to be reasonable prospects for the building industry on the Gold Coast, where the industry has struggled in recent years, but which is looking forward to significant Commonwealth Games-related activity in the next few years.