More homes are going up across Australia, but industry bodies say a critical gap still exists.
New seasonally adjusted data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows construction of 48,778 homes started in the September 2025 quarter.
This figure is 6.6% higher than the June quarter and has increased by 11.6% over the past twelve months.
According to the data, the increase was largely driven by new homes, which rose 6.9% to 28,485 homes, following a 4.9% decline in the June quarter. Other residential construction purchases increased by 3.5% to 18,747 homes in the September quarter.
Under the National Housing Accord, Australia aims to deliver 1.2 million new homes by mid-2029. To achieve this goal, the country needs to start building about 240,000 homes every year.
Construction of 230,658 new homes began across Australia in the first 15 months of the deal, according to an analysis by Master Builders Australia. At the current pace, this means a shortage of approximately 69,000 homes.
But the latest start-up figures could indicate steady momentum in the construction sector after recent approvals hit a nearly four-year high.
According to Housing Minister Clare O’Neil, the number of homes coming into use per quarter is now 17.2% higher than at the start of the National Housing Agreement period in mid-2024.
“Housing supply is starting to turn the corner, with more house building, more traditional tools and ultimately more homes built for Australians,” Ms O’Neil said.
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) said the results could indicate steady, rather than rapid, growth across the sector, especially in apartment construction.
“These are positive signs that confirm our expectation that the number of homes starting construction will see steady, not explosive, growth in the coming years,” said HIA senior economist Maurice Tapang.
“This growth is expected to come from a resurgence in apartment construction. Apartment construction remains well below the volume at which construction began a decade ago and is one of the keys to increased supply.”
Completion is still lagging behind
Despite the increase in starts, industry bodies say Australia is still not completing enough homes.
44,242 homes were completed in the September 2025 quarter, a decrease of 1.2% compared to the June quarter. During the first 15 months of the Agreement, 218,974 new homes were completed nationally.
The Property Council of Australia said the focus must now shift to delivery.
“We now have completion data for five of the 20 quarters over the Accord period and it is clear that we need a step change in delivery by 2026 to reach the target,” said Matthew Kandelaars, the Property Council’s group director of policy and advocacy.
“Australia currently needs an average of around 64,000 new homes every quarter. By the September 2025 quarter we have achieved almost 70% of that target, so there is still more work to be done.
“It takes more than a year to build a detached house and typically more than three years to deliver an apartment project from start to finish. That’s why a slow quarter today could result in a deficit several years from now, without drastic measures.”
The comments come at a time when governments across the country are taking steps to increase housing supply across segments.
In September 2025, the NSW Government launched its Pre-Sales Finance Guarantee, allowing the state to commit to purchasing up to 50% of homes approved in off-the-plan developments, valued at up to $2 million each.
Support under the scheme can range from $5 million to $50 million per project, with the first announced development part of the $285 million Rozelle Village project.
The guarantee will support 32 affordable housing units from the plan if qualifying pre-sale requirements are not met before the project’s expected 2028 completion.
According to the state government, 31 expressions of interest have been submitted in NSW, with around a third invited to submit full applications.
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