As most States grapple with how to build more housing, new figures show more than 20,000 were approved for demolition in the past 12 months.

The ABS data shows 18,864 homes were approved for demolition and 1146 units. Melbourne had the largest number of demolition approvals, 6075, followed by Sydney with 5691, Brisbane, 2106 and Perth, 1433.

REA Group senior economist, Anne Flaherty, says the knockdowns are actually a sign of more housing to come. “Demolitions happen because new homes are being built,” she says. “If we look at how many homes we need to build, we need to take into account the fact that a percentage of the new homes that are going to be built are going to result in demolitions. “Many of these approvals likely involve the replacement of one home with two or more dwellings, such as duplexes, townhouses, or apartment developments.”

There were more than 181,000 new homes approved for construction in the past 12 months. Flaherty says the densification of existing suburbs, particularly those near transport hubs, is a key strategy to address the housing crisis. “It’s very expensive to build new, which means the kinds of homes being built are the ones most likely to generate sufficient profits for developers,” she says.