Australia’s construction industry is warning that building homes today takes significantly longer than it did a decade ago, jeopardizing the federal government’s goal of delivering 1.2 million new homes within five years.
According to new Master Builders Australia analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, the average time to build a new detached house has increased by 35.8% over the past ten years. Construction timelines for apartments and townhouses have lengthened even more — by 54.1% and 27.6%, respectively.
Despite the slowdown, there are some encouraging signs. For the first time since the pandemic, the average completion time for a house fell to 11.5 months in 2024–25, down from nearly 13 months the previous year.
Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist Maurice Tapang said the improvement was expected as pandemic-era disruptions continued to ease.
“A lot of builders, especially volume builders, will say they are back to pre-pandemic build times,” Tapang said.
“That’s because many of the challenges during COVID-19 were linked to labour shortages and limits on the number of workers allowed on-site.”
He added that some projects only recently completed still reflected older, slower timelines, keeping averages slightly elevated.
‘Business as usual’ not enough
While the improvement signals progress, industry experts say more must be done to speed up housing delivery.
Dr. Duncan Maxwell, associate professor at Monash University and director of the Future Building Initiative, said the sector must embrace innovation rather than rely on traditional methods.
“The reduction in construction times shows we’re turning a corner,” Dr. Maxwell said.
“But pursuing business as usual won’t deliver the major, long-term improvements we need. The industry must find new, more efficient ways of building homes.”
He also called for streamlined planning approvals, digitalisation of regulatory processes, and greater investment in skilled labour to reduce delays.
“We should be fast-tracking approvals for key development areas while modernising regulatory layers that slow down projects,” he added.
Industry groups warn that without coordinated reforms to planning systems, workforce development, and material supply chains, Australia risks falling well short of its ambitious housing targets — intensifying affordability pressures for years to come.
