For the first three quarters of 2019, Tamworth's development applications were on par with previous years, in both the number approved and their total monetary value.

However, there has been a noticeable drop off in the last quarter, with just 20 approvals worth $13 million.

With just five weeks to go, it appears unlikely DA approvals will reach that of last year's fourth quarter figures of 136 approved, worth $38 million, or 2017's 138 approvals for $29 million.

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Single Builders owner Mark Single said the ongoing drought had been hurting the construction industry for a number of months.

"The DAs going through probably aren't reflective of how slow it actually is," he said. "A lot of them are small renovations, which are inflating the numbers.

"My understanding is that housing construction is down by 40 to 50 per cent compared to last year and that's been pretty constant the whole year."

Mr Single said the confidence of residents played a big part in the slowing conditions.

"A lot of people are sitting on their hands, concerned about when the drought will stop," Mr Single said.

"Farmers and small businesses are definitely feeling the plight, but for mums and dads with a permanent job, their wage hasn't changed.

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"My thoughts are once it rains, Tamworth will turn around really fast."

One silver lining is anyone taking the plunge will have their house built at neck-breaking speed.

"At the moment all houses are being built under time," Mr Single said.

"Because it's slow for subcontractors, they're sitting around waiting. So when they get the call, they're there the next day.

"Land sales are still ticking over, they're not as good as last year, but they're still coming through."