There seems no immediate end in sight to the current housing supply shortage, with Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing building approvals fell in September.

There was a 5.8% drop in the total number of approved dwellings in September compared with the previous month, with the total number of approvals now 13% below the same period last year.

The biggest drop in approvals was in South Australia, which was down 19% during the month, followed by Tasmania, down 11%, Western Australia, down 9%, NSW, down 9% and Queensland down 6%.

Victoria was the only state to record an increase, with its approvals up 3.4% in September.

There was also a drop in the number of homeowners carrying out alterations and additions, with that work down by 2.9% during September.

Ryan Wells of Westpac says the figures show that approvals are starting to more broadly weaken and that increasing building costs, labour shortages and supply issues are having an impact on the housing market.