Key takeaways
The time it takes to build new homes and apartments has significantly increased over the past 15 years.
The average build time for standalone houses has gone from 9 months to 12.7 months (a 40% increase), while apartment construction timelines have surged from 18.5 months to 33.3 months (an 80% jump).
These delays directly impact the housing market by limiting the number of homes that reach completion. This reduced supply inflates competition and housing prices, exacerbating Australia’s affordability crisis.
Higher prices and competition make it difficult for prospective buyers to enter the market. For renters, the situation becomes even more dire as more individuals are pushed into an already strained rental market due to a shortage of affordable homes.
Immediate reforms could prevent further increases in construction times, which are crucial for closing the gap between supply and demand. Without these changes, the housing crisis will worsen, and more Australians may find themselves priced out of homeownership.
It’s no secret that Australia is struggling to meet the housing demand, but there's a bigger underlying issue that many aren’t talking about: the extended time it takes to build a new home or apartment.
It's a slow-moving crisis, and data from the Master Builders Association highlights just how far behind we are in our ability to get homes built in a timely manner.
Why are our builds taking longer?
Looking back 15 years, the average build time for a standalone house was about nine months.
Fast forward to today, and it’s stretched to a whopping 12.7 months – a jump of over 40%!
And that’s just houses.
For apartments, the time from approval to completion has exploded from an average of 18.5 months to a staggering 33.3 months.
That’s nearly three years to bring a single apartment building to life, an 80% increase in timeline.
This blowout isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a direct factor worsening Australia’s housing shortage.
Every extra month added to the build process means fewer homes are hitting the market, pushing up demand and, inevitably, prices.
The factors slowing us down
With all the advancements in construction technology, you’d think we’d be building faster, not slower.
But according to Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn, the reasons are complex, and there are a few big culprits here.
Labour shortages, supply chain disruptions, union agreements, and a convoluted regulatory process all play a role.
In fact, productivity in construction has dropped by 18% over the last decade, adding even more weight to an already strained industry according to Wawn.
Add to this the bottlenecks in obtaining necessary certificates, complex infrastructure requirements, and delays in final approvals, and you’ve got an industry bogged down in inefficiencies.
While these issues aren’t new, their impact has been amplified in recent years, especially as Australia faces record-high housing demand.
What this means for Australia’s housing market
These prolonged construction times mean that even if we have the approvals for new housing, those homes won’t be ready for quite some time.
For those trying to enter the market, this translates to higher prices and more competition for limited housing stock.
For renters, the squeeze gets even tighter as more people are forced into the rental market due to a lack of affordable homes to buy.
We’re left with a widening gap between demand and supply, which only exacerbates the affordability crisis.
And as timelines stretch further, the more unaffordable housing becomes, creating a vicious cycle that’s tough to break.
What needs to change?
Master Builders Australia is calling for reform, and rightly so.
They’re suggesting a multi-pronged approach to address the bottlenecks, which could ease the delays and reduce construction times.
Some of the solutions on the table include:
- Streamlining regulatory processes: Simplifying the approval process could eliminate months of bureaucratic back-and-forth. Right now, builders are caught in a maze of regulations, leading to unnecessary delays.
- Adopting digital solutions: The construction industry could benefit from digital innovations like Building Information Modeling (BIM) or project management software to improve productivity and streamline project timelines.
- Growing the workforce: Australia needs more skilled tradespeople and construction workers, as this shortage isn’t likely to resolve on its own. Offering incentives to attract both local and international talent could be a game-changer.
- Strengthening supply chains: Many construction delays come from material shortages. By focusing on a more robust domestic supply chain, we can reduce dependency on international suppliers and minimize future disruptions.
Given the clear need to boost housing supply, now is the time for reform.
Without it, extended build times will continue to choke the market, driving up prices and putting housing further out of reach for many Australians.
The path forward
Obviously, this issue isn’t going to be solved overnight, but with targeted reform and a focus on productivity, we can start to close the gap between housing demand and supply.
If we continue to ignore these problems, construction times will only continue to increase, and the housing crisis will deepen.
What’s clear is that we need a construction industry that can keep up with demand, one that’s streamlined, efficient, and ready to deliver homes within a realistic timeframe.
The clock is ticking – and the longer it takes to act, the more we risk leaving an entire generation priced out of the market.
