Official figures show a record number of homes were approved for construction in January.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said there was a 7.9 per cent rise in the number of approvals from December, in seasonally adjusted terms, to surpass 19,000 dwellings for the first time since the data began being collected in 1983.

The result was in stark contrast with expectations, with the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicting approvals would fall by 2 per cent.

The prior record had only stood since November last year, when a figure from August 1994 was finally surpassed.

In another unusual feature, the nearly 9,700 apartments approved was greater than the almost 9,600 houses - the only previous time units have exceeded houses was in September 2013.

To put that shift to higher density housing into perspective, in the long-time record month of August 1994 just over 11,100 houses were approved and nearly 6,600 units.

In the latest January figures the number of apartment approvals jumped nearly 20 per cent, and was up nearly 24 per cent over the past 12 months.

In contrast, house approvals edged up 0.4 per cent, with the number nearly 3 per cent lower than it was a year ago.

Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said apartment projects in Queensland were a major factor driving the stronger-than-expected rise, with that state's unit approvals jumping 122 per cent.

The record approvals pre-date last month's interest rate cut, but Mr Hassan said it would be a big ask for lower rates to drive further gains.

"The surprisingly strong January approvals number confirms the strong outlook for housing construction in 2015," Mr Hassan said.

"However, the impact of lump projects on month-to-month readings and the added caveat of seasonality for the January month cautions against taking it as a sign that activity is ramping higher."

Housing Industry Association (HIA) economist Geordan Murray said apartment building in Queensland was backed up by solid activity levels in Victoria and New South Wales.

"These three states typically account for around 80 per cent of all multi-unit residential building and when you have all three performing strongly, it's a recipe for a strong national result in this segment of the market," he said.

"Changing consumer preferences, demography, affordability challenges and aspects of the policy environment are all contributing to the current situation where a larger share of new homes are in the form of attached dwellings."