Australia building boom cooling at a bad time

Sydney

AUSTRALIA'S home building boom is starting to look old in the tooth just when its economic benefits are sorely needed to offset slumping mining investment, a possible harbinger of tougher times in 2016.

Alarm bells rang on Thursday when government data showed approvals to build new homes dived 12.7 per cent in November, far beyond market forecasts and the biggest drop since late 2012. The main culprit was the multi-unit sector where approvals fell a startling 23 per cent to the lowest in over a year.