Australians concerned there won’t be enough new homes

Aussies are growing increasingly nervous over the country’s failure to build enough housing.

Under the National Housing Accord, governments have been set the target of building 1.2 million homes by 2029, but recent YouGov polling found nearly 80 per cent of Aussies are “concerned” the country will fall short of this number.

But instead of scrapping the push and implementing a new, lower target, Aussies are expecting the Federal Government to deliver on their promise rather than abandon it.

MORE: Aussie’s cunning boat hack to escape rent

Aussies now worry the nation won’t be able to keep up with its housing target by 2029.

MORE: Forced into it: Dirty landlord secret exposed

“Australians want action. They want governments to set ambitious targets and they want governments to follow through with bold and meaningful reforms to help the nation reach these housing targets,” said Amplify CEO Georgina Harrisson.

“Sugar hit policies and short-term fixes aren’t going to get the nation building. Governments need to move at pace to solve this very real crisis.”

The fears come after a recent freeze on the National Construction Code, environmental changes and AI impacts that are set to be addressed.

MORE: Parent move fuelling ugly sibling disputes

Despite fears, Australians still want the government to deliver on their promise rather than underdeliver.

But any productive changes will mean little if the housing targets aren’t met.

“Australians can’t wait years for consistency and clarity in housing rules,” Mr Harrison said.

“To unlock the opportunities that are presented through modern construction, to build more homes sooner, we need to modernise the regulations and we can’t afford to wait unnecessarily.”

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil defended the 1.2 million target and called for “gritty, difficult, technical work – across portfolios, governments and industry – to turn this crisis around”.

It comes as the ABS this week revealed building approvals fell by 8.2 per cent in July 2025, a “reminder of how fragile the recovery in home building remains”.

Economist Shane Garrett said progress on homes had been too slow. Picture; Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP.

Despite approvals still marginally higher than they were a year ago, Master Builders chief economist Shane Garrett admitted progress has been too slow.

Construction activity has been unable to meet the appetite for new housing and targets set by National Housing Accord, he said.

About 189,000 new dwellings were built in the year to July 2025, which was well under annual target.

“We’re likely to have suffered a 60,000-home shortfall during the Housing Accord’s first year so we need to average 255,000 homes annually over the remaining four years of the Accord,” he said.

“The pace of building approvals over the last 12 months is more than 66,000 below this speed requirement.

“If it stays like this, we’re in for a 265,000 deficit against the Accord’s 1.2 million target.”

The post Australians concerned there won’t be enough new homes appeared first on realestate.com.au.