The total number of houses and apartments that started construction in the first quarter of 2010 rose 4.3% from the fourth quarter of 2009 to a seasonally adjusted 42,399.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also reported that the number of private-sector houses started in the first quarter fell 2.4% from the previous quarter to 27,845. The trend estimate for the total number of housing starts, which further smoothes the seasonally adjusted numbers, rose 8.7% from the fourth quarter to 42,683.