- No products in the cart.
7 January 2026
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Data finds good news for builders, with home building approvals reaching their highest since February 2022 and higher density approvals having their best month since June 2018.
Analysis by Master Builders Australia’s Chief Economics Shane Garret found that 195,523 new homes were approved across Australia over the year to November representing a welcome expansion on previous years. However, it is a pace of home building well short of what’s required to meet the National Housing Accord.
“As we have previously reported, during the Accord’s first year, Australia suffered a 60,000-home shortfall meaning that 255,000 new homes are required per year over the remaining 4 years of the Accord.
“Higher density home building, which offers our best chance of turning this around, surged by 36.3 per cent during the month. When conditions are right, the output of apartments and units can increase substantially over relatively short periods.
“The detached house building side of the market was more muted, with approvals up marginally (+0.7 per cent),” said Mr Garrett.
Master Builders Australia (MBA) CEO Denita Wawn shared that inflation eased back to 3.4 per cent during November however it is still well above the Reserve Bank’s target and means that work is still needed to get inflation under control again.
“Right now, we are grappling with skilled workforce shortages while our abysmal productivity performance is slowing down work and preventing many new home building projects from proceeding at all.
“Our industry can play a role in winning the war against inflation however, we cannot kick into overdrive until the policy conditions are right. Proposed reforms need to be fast tracked that increase the flow of skilled labourers, through domestic apprenticeship supports and a recalibrated skilled migration system, as well as that boost productivity, by cutting unnecessary red tap by 25%, to ensure even more projects get off the ground quicker.
“If we could build more homes, housing cost pressures would mellow which would have favourable implications for wages and costs right across the economy especially considering housing costs are the biggest contributor to our economy’s inflationary pressures.
“MBA will continue to work with the Federal Government and our industry to ensure Australians have the homes they need sooner rather than later. The solutions and the way forward have been built out, including by the Productivity Commission and BuildSkills Australia, we must now act.
Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Media Advisor
0497 330 064 | dylan.hafey@masterbuilders.com.au