Australia’s $15 billion renovation divide revealed as Brisbane outpaces Sydney and Gold Coast

Key points

• Brisbane has been named Australia's renovation capital, with approved residential renovation work averaging $88.5 million a month over five years. A study by furniture retailer The Furniture Trader, using Australian Bureau of Statistics building approvals data, found Brisbane also recorded the biggest rise nationally, up 71.7 per cent.
• Northern Beaches ranks second and the Gold Coast third. Sydney recorded the largest fall in approved renovation value of any council area, down 29.1 per cent over the same period.
• Nationally, approved renovation value rose 27 per cent to $15.3 billion.