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In the first quarter of 2025, there were 3,783 loans issued for new builds. This is the lowest figure since September 2006, according to a Money.com.au study.
This marks a 13 per cent drop from the same period last year, which was the previous decade low.
The December 2020 quarter reported record activity, with new build loans reaching 8,510. This is 56 per cent higher than the current figure.
Annually, loans for new dwellings are also down. In the year to March 2025, there were 19,153 loans issued. This was 42 per cent lower than the peak in the year to September 2021, where 32,964 were issued.
Supply just isn’t keeping up with borrower demand, especially as rate cuts breathe some life into consumer confidence.
Money.com.au’s general manager of lending, Jacob Overs, said governments need to fast-track building development if stock is to keep up with consumer demand.
“New housing stock isn’t coming through fast enough because developments are being delayed or scrapped altogether due to cost blowouts, labour shortages and red tape. With new builds taking longer to make it to market, there are fewer loans to be written for those entry-point properties,” Overs said.
“There’s a huge missed opportunity here, especially for first home buyers. Governments are pouring money into incentives to help them buy new homes, including cash grants and stamp duty concessions, but the homes themselves just aren’t there for buyers to take advantage.
“This means many are being pushed into buying existing properties and miss out on government support that’s specifically targeted at new housing.”
Adding further strain is a growing population. Recent ABS data revealed the total population reached 27.4 million, up 1.7 per cent (445,900 people) throughout 2024.
HIA senior economist Tom Devitt said the government needs to stimulate housing to meet this rising population, much of which is driven by overseas migration.
“Stimulating housing demand at a federal level through record inflows of overseas arrivals, while simultaneously penalising those who finance housing supply at a state level, has been one of the worst policy own goals in recent Australian history,” Devitt said.
“The government has not balanced the goal of stable and reliable migration pathways with the removal of restrictions on new home building necessary to meet demand.”
Further to government action, there have been calls to address challenges with tradie shortages, vital to the construction of new homes.
Securing young talent in this industry is proving to be a key issue. A recent study by NextMinute analysed the median age of various trades.
The median age for each occupation listed ranged from 32–52 years old.
Also revealed were vacancies, with some occupations like electricians in the thousands.
NextMinute CEO Alex Jenks said the key to attracting more workers and retaining those already in industry is support.
“We’re seeing clear demographic differences across trades that will affect recruitment and retention. Supporting older workers while attracting younger talent will be key to bridging skill gaps and ensuring continued growth,” said Jenks.
