New homes and apartments across Australia are taking longer to build, new data shows.

As Australia sets its sights on ambitious housing targets, Master Builders Australia has released its latest analysis of construction timeframes for new dwelling types across Australia.

The data looks at the average duration which is taken from approval to completion across various housing types and different states and territories.

It reveals that timeframes have increased across every dwelling type.

According to the data, over the ten years from 2013/14 to 2023/24:

• average timeframes from approval to completion of detached houses increased by four months from 8.46 months to 12.69 months
• for townhouses, average approval to completion timeframes increased by more than four months from 11.61 months to 15.99 months
• for apartments, average approval to completion timeframes blew out by almost a year from 21.67 months to 33.30 months (as a result, it now takes almost three years to build an average apartment).

Interestingly, the data suggests that completion timeframes for detached homes and townhouses were relatively stable prior to COVID related disruptions and COVID stimulus measures such as the Commonwealth HomeBuilder Program (see chart).

Since COVID, however, timeframes have blown out as a massive increase in new home building activity has led to persistent trade shortages.

With regard to apartments, the increase in timeframes began with the apartment building boom that occurred in the mid-2010s.

The latest data comes as Commonwealth and state governments across Australia are aiming to to deliver 1.2 million new dwellings over the five years from 1 July 2024 under the National Housing Accord.

This represents an average build rate of 240,000 homes per year – well above the 176,000 homes that were completed in 2023/24.

The data also comes as the nation’s home building industry continues to suffer from ongoing shortages of skilled tradespeople.

Nevertheless, Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says that more needs to be done to speed up new home delivery.

“With advancements in technology and construction methods, we should be building homes faster, not slower,” Wawn said.

“There are a range of contributing factors including labour shortages, declining productivity, union pattern agreements, supply chain disruptions, complex regulatory requirements, occupational certificate backlogs and critical infrastructure delays.

“As a result, we’ve seen productivity decline by 18 per cent over the last decade.”

Wawn called for action to speed up processes.

“Productivity is more than an economic buzzword. This data proves what happens in a construction environment without meaningful reform.

“Streamlining regulatory approval processes, encouraging adoption of digital solutions, introducing incentives to grow the workforce through domestic and international means, and strengthening the domestic supply chain are just some examples (of potential reform).”

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