New data reveals dramatic shift in Australian home construction times

After years of crippling delays and a housing market held hostage by construction bottlenecks, a seismic shift is underway across Australia’s building sites.

In a long-awaited victory for frustrated homebuyers, new data reveals that the agonising wait for a newly built home is finally, decisively shrinking.

Master Builders Australia’s latest analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics data confirms a tangible and significant reduction in the time it takes to complete homes.

Townhouses are now being completed five weeks faster, with typical build times dropping to 14.8 months.

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Apartments, traditionally the slowest, have seen their build time come down to 32.9 months during 2024-25, while detached houses are now seeing an 11.5-month gap between approval and completion.

“This is due to the continued easing of supply chain pressures and a soft easing of labour shortages,” Shane Garrett, Chief Economist at Master Builders Australia said.

“However, there’s still a long way to go with build times much slower than they were pre-pandemic.

“Building a new detached house is now 35.8 per cent slower than it was a decade ago. Delays on the higher density side are even worse: it takes 54.1 per cent longer to build a new apartment with a 27.6 per cent deterioration in the speed of delivering new townhouses.”

Source: Master Builders Australia

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn hailed the data as a “step in the right direction” but stressed that complacency is not an option.

“We acknowledge the ongoing efforts of government to fix Australia’s housing crisis through planning reforms, investment and workforce initiatives, but more work is needed to sustain this momentum and deliver the homes our communities need,” she said.

“These positive developments are overshadowed by the revelation this week that Australia is 60,971 short of new houses during the first year of the National Housing Accord.

“With build times heading in the right direction and supply chains continuing to ease since Covid, we need to address other challenges to deliver more homes including increasing skilled labour through more apprentices, encouraging more women to enter the industry, and tweaking migration settings targeting key skill shortages.

“Homes won’t get off the ground without the people to build them and the rolling out of regulatory and planning reforms to lift productivity.”

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Source: Master Builders Australia

Property developer confidence has increased, says lender

Mark Greenberg, founder of non-bank lender Lambert Capital, said confidence among Australian property developers has strengthened in recent months, with stabilising construction costs, stronger end-buyer demand and renewed activity in key markets helping turn sentiment around.

“We’re seeing increased inquiries and a more positive attitude from both developers and end buyers,” he said.

“Developers who had paused projects are now feeling more confident as construction costs stabilise, allowing them to deliver products they can pre-sell, hold to sell post-construction or rent out for longer-term investment with greater certainty.”

According to Cotality’s Cordell Construction Index, residential construction costs rose 0.5 per cent between the March and June 2025 quarters.

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Chief Executive of Master Builders Australia Denita Wawn

While still increasing, this pace is significantly slower than the pre-pandemic decade average of 1.0 per cent per quarter, indicating that construction costs are finally stabilising after years of rapid growth.

Meanwhile, according to the Housing Industry Association, new home sales (contract-to-build) were at a three-year high in August 2025.

“We’re particularly seeing renewed demand in more affordable markets like Victoria and Tasmania,” said Mr Greenberg.

“After years of hesitation, the market finally feels like it’s moving in the right direction.”

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