The data shows just 714 homes were completed, well below the ACT's quarterly Housing Accord target of 1,047 dwellings and 44 per cent down from 1,278 in the previous quarter. Building starts also fell by 40 per cent on the last quarter, with 427 homes commenced, down from 717.
Property Council ACT & Capital Region Executive Director Ashlee Berry said the figures confirm what builders and developers have been saying for months - projects aren't stacking up.
"Approvals are down, commencements are down, and confidence is low. The message from the industry is simple: it's getting harder - not easier - to deliver homes in Canberra," Ms Berry said.
"We're now seeing the pipeline dry up just as the city faces its most ambitious housing targets in a generation. You can't deliver more housing by making it more expensive to build."
Ms Berry said the recent ACT Budget had made the situation worse for many projects, with rising rates and land taxes hitting feasibility and forcing delays or cancellations.
"The removal of differential rates and continued increases in commercial and residential rates are making marginal projects unviable. We are seeing bracket creep and cost layering with no clear policy direction - just more pressure on those trying to build," she said.
"These numbers are not a blip. They follow the worst year for building approvals since 2005 and reflect growing concern that government settings aren't keeping pace with housing delivery goals."
Ms Berry said reforms like the new Development Solutions unit and the City and Environment Directorate were welcome but needed to be matched with meaningful financial and regulatory relief.
"We're ready to work with the Government to get projects moving - but we need real changes, not just restructures. That means rethinking how taxes and charges are applied and backing in the industry with policies that support delivery, not punish it," she said.
