The total number of building permits issued in Australia was up a seasonally adjusted 9.9 percent in May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Monday - coming in at 16,390.
That beat forecasts for a decline of 1.8 percent following the 2.4 percent contraction in April.
Permits for private sector houses fell 2.7 percent on month to 9.687, while permits for private sector dwellings excluding houses surged 32.0 percent to 6,376.
On a yearly basis, permits for private sector houses tumbled 29.5 percent, permits for private sector buildings excluding houses shed 5.4 percent and overall permits dropped 20.9 percent.
