Building approvals figures released by the ABS show a 2.2 per cent decline in July in trend terms, following a 0.8 per cent fall in June.

The fall in state figures mirrored the national decline of 0.5 per cent in trend terms - the seventh straight month of decline.

In other bad news for the property industry, the number of first-home buyers nationally has dropped to a four-year low, according to mortgage broker AFG.

AFG said that only 9.5 per cent of all new mortgages processed last month were for first-home buyers - the lowest level since June 2010.