22/10/2025
Building times are improving, but still too slow.
Construction timelines are finally starting to shrink, but not fast enough to fix Australia’s housing shortage.
Master Builders Australia (MBA) has analysed the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data and found detached homes, townhouses and apartments are all being completed faster than last year.
Townhouses now take 14.8 months to finish, while apartments take 32.9 months – both down from the previous year. Detached houses are now averaging 11.5 months from approval to completion.
It’s a step in the right direction, according to MBA chief economist Shane Garrett, but delays are still well above pre-pandemic levels. In fact, building a house today takes nearly 36% longer than it did a decade ago. For apartments, it’s more than 50% longer.
Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn says that’s a big problem, especially when the country is already 60,971 homes behind on the National Housing Accord.
To build faster, she says we need to invest in workforce training, support more apprentices, and remove planning roadblocks to boost supply.
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Image credit: Australian Financial Review
