15,000 homes behind just three months into national housing target

Australia is already over 15,000 homes behind just three months into the 1.2 million homes by 2029 national housing target, according to seasonally adjusted numbers released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

To meet the National Housing Accord’s 2029 target, 60,000 new homes are needed every quarter. In the September quarter – the first three months since the Housing Accord kicked off on 1 July 2024 – only 44,884 homes were built across Australia.

Northern Territory is trailing the most, delivering 78.6 per cent fewer homes than needed for its target of 571 per quarter. Victoria is falling 0.1 per cent below its quarterly target of 15,316.

The September quarter numbers are down 0.9 per cent from the June quarter, which immediately preceded the Housing Accord period.

Property Council Group Executive Policy and Advocacy Matthew Kandelaars said with the clock ticking, we find ourselves behind the 1.2 million homes by 2029 target just three months into the journey.

“Few expected we’d be meeting our welcome and ambitious housing target from day one, but it’s doing its job by providing transparency about who is lagging and by how much,” Mr Kandelaars said.

“If we don’t start as we intend to finish, we’ll be kicking into a gale at the final break – making the job near impossible. There’s no time to waste and we can’t afford to slip any further behind.

“Our new home target is much more than an arbitrary number. It is what’s needed to close the national housing supply shortage. It represents hard hats, steel caps and getting Australian families into the homes they deserve.

“The work of the next term of the Federal parliament needs a laser-focus on helping states and territories do the heavy lifting required to meet our target. It’s evident from today’s data that some states are far better placed than others but all need a serious and immediate kick into action.

“The most urgent priorities are for states and territories to address affordability-killing taxes on new homes, cut red tape to boost productivity and address critical shortages of skilled labour,” he said.

New housing commencements are up 4.6 per cent from the June quarter, and new apartment and townhouse commencements have risen by 3.8 per cent in the past 12 months.