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Australia has passed another property benchmark with the completion of new units now exceeding new houses for the first time ever.

In its latest Property Pulse report, CoreLogic notes that yesterday’s ABS housing data showed completion of new units in the December quarter totalled 28,527. Construction of new houses was 28,102.

This chart shows the steady rise in apartment completions since 2011.

CoreLogic’s chart underlines the broader picture, with yesterday’s figures showing that 2016 was the highest year on record for the completion of residential dwellings.

The trend of higher apartment completions is likely to continue for some time, on the back of steady growth in apartments still under construction.

Business Insider’s David Scutt highlighted yesterday that while new apartment construction has focused primarily on the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane markets, the latest data suggests that momentum in the sector has been narrowed down to the Sydney market only.

CoreLogic analyst Cameron Kusher said that “when you look at the individual state data, the number of new units under construction in New South Wales is continuing to climb to new historic highs while the number under construction in Victoria and Queensland, where concerns around inner city unit supply are more pronounced, is now clearly trending lower”.

Although new apartment construction is just starting to level off, activity in the sector will remain high throughout 2017 given that construction numbers are still at historic highs:

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