Building momentum: the south is leading the way
While it will take all states to contribute to the national new home building target of 1.2 million constructions by 2029, Victoria is currently leading the charge.
VICTORIA is dominating other states in the national race to build 1.2 million homes by mid-2029.
The national cabinet agreed in 2023 to the ambitious target to build 1.2 million new well-located homes over five years from July 2024, in efforts to boost housing supply.
Since July 2024, Victoria has recorded over 70,000 building approvals for total residential dwellings (including apartments, houses and townhouses), a tally of Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveals.
NSW was second, issuing over 63,000 total dwelling approvals, followed by Queensland with over 48,000, Western Australia with over 28,000, and South Australia, with over 18,000.
Tasmania recorded almost 3000 approvals, while seasonally adjusted data for the Northern Territory and the ACT was unavailable.
Across the country, total dwellings approved in September reached 17,019, up 12% over the month, driven by apartment approvals. The total number of dwellings approved was also 15% up on the same time last year.
The latest data prompted lobby groups in some states to call for greater action to meet their targets.
Property Council NSW executive director Anita Hugo said the 12-month trend showed NSW was significantly behind the number of homes
needed to meet its share of the national housing targets.
“NSW needs around 75,000 homes approved each year to meet its 2029 housing target – and while the lift in September is encouraging, the trend shows only 52,462 were approved over the last 12 months, leaving a shortfall in the pipeline of nearly 23,000 homes,” Ms Hugo said.
The Property Council ACT also said the 3,365 total approvals reached in the territory over the last 12 months fell “well short” of the monthly
average of around 500 needed to be on track to meet the ACT’s housing target of 30,000 new homes by 2030.
According to Master Builders Australia, the September building approvals figures marked the strongest monthly result since June but there was “still a long road ahead” to meet the targets.
“Over the year to September, 191,695 new homes were approved across Australia, the highest annual total in almost three years and 13.7 per cent higher than the previous 12 months,” Master Builders Australia Chief Economist Shane Garrett said.
“However, this still leaves us around 48,000 homes short each year of what’s required under the National Housing Accord. That shortfall must be closed urgently if we’re to reach the government’s target.”
