ABS data show there were just 568 dwellings delivered in the June quarter while 2024-25 delivered 2,515 homes, a fall of 420 on the previous year. Building starts were down by more than 50% (53.9%) over the last financial year - from 4,509 in FY2024 to 2,077 in FY 2025
Property Council ACT & Capital Region Executive Director Ashlee Berry said the figures follow a year of warning signs flagged by industry – from weak approvals to collapsing sentiment - amid rising costs and more red tape.
"These numbers are the loudest wake-up call yet and they confirm what builders and developers have been saying for months: the pipeline is drying up, and feasibility is shot. The best time for reform was yesterday, and the second-best time is today," Ms Berry said.
"Approvals have slipped, confidence is now the lowest in the nation, completions have fallen year on year, and the pipeline of commencements has halved. You can't deliver more homes by making them more expensive to build with additional taxes, charges, and red tape.
Ms Berry said industry had put forward a practical package of reforms to get projects moving.
"Fix the cost stack and clear the bottlenecks. That means targeted rates and land-tax relief, smarter use and reform of Lease Variation Charge to unlock viable projects, fast-tracking Missing Middle zoning changes, and a cross-agency housing taskforce to fix post-approval delays."
Ms Berry said the data underlined the urgency of action already flagged with government: rising rates and land taxes, layered regulatory costs and slow approvals are pushing marginal projects over the edge and shrinking delivery at the very time Canberra needs to lift output.
"If the Government moves quickly with reform, projects sidelined by cost and uncertainty can come back into play this year. That's the difference between meeting targets on paper and getting keys in doors," Ms Berry said.
"Canberra can still turn this around – but only if we stop adding cost and start clearing a path for delivery. Let's get on with it and get more homes built," Ms Berry said.
