Building work started on new homes lifted by almost one-tenth in the final months of 2025, according to data released this week by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The latest figures show that the total number of dwellings commenced in Australia rose 8 per cent to 53,567 dwellings in the December quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms.
Work started on apartments and townhouses rose 23.4 per cent to 23,849 homes, following a rise of 6.1 per cent in the September quarter. Work on new houses dropped slightly by 0.9 per cent to 28,469, but this followed a healthy rise of 8.1 per cent in the September quarter.
Altogether, there were 236,858 homes under construction in the December quarter, of which 88,630 were new houses.
The total number of homes completed fell 1.7 per cent to 43,536 in the December quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. New houses fell 3.9 per cent to 26,052, while new multi-residential completions fell 1.1 per cent from September to 16,172 homes.
The value of all new residential building work done rose 0.6 per cent to $23.2b in the December quarter, in seasonally adjusted terms. Alterations and additions fell 0.2 per cent to $3.7b.