The time it takes to build new apartments, townhouses and houses has fallen for the first time in a decade. This is welcome sign for Australia’s stretched construction industry.

In 2024/25, it took 11 and a half months on average to build a new house, compared to 12.72 months a year earlier. Townhouses and apartments are also being completed 7.2 per cent faster than they were last year.

While these improvements show supply chains and labour pressures are easing, experts warn productivity challenges remain. The sector is still grappling with high costs, skill shortages and approval delays that continue to slow housing delivery.

So why are build times finally improving — and what more needs to be done to get Australia building faster?

Why build times are improving

Improved supply chains

During the pandemic, the cost of materials escalated rapidly, with many simply not available. While prices for materials remain higher than they were pre-pandemic, most of them are now readily available.

Enhanced investor confidence

As construction costs have stabilised, investor confidence has increased.

Developers who had previously paused projects are now feeling more confident. This allows them to deliver products they can pre-sell, hold to sell post-construction, or rent out for longer-term investment with greater certainty.

Reduced labour shortages

An increase in apprentices trained during the pandemic has helped address labour market shortages. Finding specialised construction tradies such as plasterers, brickies and carpenters is now easier than it was a couple of years ago.

Is it all good news for the construction sector?

While there is some positive news, there is still room for improvement.

Shane Garrett, chief economist at Master Builders Australia, warns that while progress has been made, construction wait times are still much higher than they were a decade ago.

“However, there’s still a long way to go, with build times much slower than they were pre-pandemic,” he told realestate.com.au.

“Building a new detached house is now 35.8 per cent slower than it was a decade ago. Delays on the higher-density side are even worse: it takes 54.1 per cent longer to build a new apartment, with a 27.6 per cent deterioration in the speed of delivering new townhouses.”

This shows there is still room for improvement in productivity in the construction sector. A report by the Productivity Commission earlier this year found that half as many homes are being built per hour worked as 30 years ago.

According to Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn, while recent developments are encouraging, more work needs to be done.

“With build times heading in the right direction and supply chains continuing to ease since COVID, we need to address other challenges to deliver more homes, including increasing skilled labour through more apprentices, encouraging more women to enter the industry, and tweaking migration settings targeting key skill shortages,” she told realestate.com.au.

“Homes won’t get off the ground without the people to build them and the rolling out of regulatory and planning reforms to lift productivity.”

Shorter build times are a welcome sign for the industry.

However, continued investment in skills and workforce development is vital to sustain progress.

Australia still faces major housing and construction challenges.

The demand for qualified professionals across every trade and discipline remains strong.

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Article References

Kellner, L (21 October 2025) ‘New data reveals dramatic shift in Australian home construction times’, Realestate.com.au, accessed 27 October 2025.

Leneghan, L (20 October 2025) ‘Home building speeds up after decade of delays’, Financial Review, accessed 27 October 2025.