In the first positive sign of a local property market turning in the right direction, the Master Builders Association said Queensland had a 7 per cent seasonally adjusted increase in building approvals in March, according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Darren Barlow, the MBA's director of housing, said that the state had lagged behind national averages for the past 15 months and this positive growth was finally a good sign for an industry plagued by negative growth.

"Private sector homes in Queensland also fared well with an increase of 4.6 per cent in comparison to a 3.5 per cent increase nationally," said Mr Barlow.

"The building industry in Queensland has been doing it tough for the past 12 months with a drop in total building approvals of more than 50 per cent, so we hope these figures are indicative that Queensland has reached the bottom of the cycle and is now moving into an era of continued positive growth."

Mr Barlow said the upswing was only a glimmer that some positive growth might lie ahead and governments had to continue measures to stimulate the building industry and improve consumer confidence.

The MBA has called on the Federal Government to renew the increased grant for new housing.

"Unfortunately one month of good figures does not constitute a trend and we will be looking closely at figures for longer term signs of recovery over the next six to 12 months," he said.

"This positive growth highlightd the need for governemnt initiatives such as the First Home Owners Grant and we encourage the Federal Governemnt to consider the extension of these initiatives during their budget celebrations."

The 3.5 per cent rise in new building approvals nationally, the second month in a row of growth, is attributed to a boom in first home buyers building new homes.

The rise came after an upwardly revised 8.0 per cent rise in February, ending seven months of decline.

Economists had forecast a rise of 2.8 per cent in March.

However, the value of homes being built also fell around the country as did the number of renovations.

The value of new residential building fell by 0.7 per cent while renovations fell 0.4 per cent in March.

The Federal Government's more generous first home buyer's grant introduced in October, along with low mortgage rates, has drawn strong support from new buyers.

The sheme trebled the grant to $21,000 for new homes and doubled it to $14,000 for established homes.

The Government has yet to say if the increased scheme will be extened after June 30.