Queensland detached houses are shrinking in size but costing more – and the sunshine state is now building the most expensive apartments on the east coast.
An analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the average price tag for building a new apartment in Queensland is just over $5,020 per square metre – a staggering 71 per cent higher in just three years. The increase is nearly three times that in Victoria (+24 per cent), and almost double the jump in New South Wales (+38 per cent).
The average cost to build a new detached home in Queensland has jumped by 41 per cent since 2021-22, equal highest of any other state or territory over the same timeframe. This has resulted in consumers choosing to build smaller homes, with the average floor area now sitting at close to 231 square metres, compared to 245 square metres just a year ago.
It comes as the ABS regional building approvals figures show a total of 44,689 new detached houses and units were approved in the year to April – an increase of just 0.3 per cent on March, and 1.4 per cent for the quarter, and remaining well short of the government target of 50,000 new dwellings a year.
The regional breakdown showed positive results across the board, apart from Downs & Western (Toowoomba) and Wide Bay Burnett, which saw drops in both detached houses and units across the quarter.
“These figures confirm what industry has long been saying – the cost to build in Queensland is becoming prohibitive, where increasingly, only higher-end projects stack up financially,” Master Builders Deputy CEO Michael Hopkins said.
“While worker safety and build quality are always our top priority, it’s clear that red tape continues to hold construction back, adding cost and blowing out program times. Research commissioned by the Queensland Productivity Commission found that regulatory costs add up to 20 per cent of a dwelling’s sale price – a massive $186,000 for the average house on a greenfield site, and $121,000 for an inner-city apartment.
“The jump in the cost to build a new detached home coincides with the introduction of the energy efficiency and accessibility changes to the National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 here in Queensland. We continue to call on the state government to complete the review of NCC 2022, which has been underway since it came to office almost two years ago. We need a clear and purposeful Code to streamline new home construction.”
With industry also grappling with materials and fuel cost hikes and supply chain challenges resulting from global conflict, Mr Hopkins pointed to the state budget in just over a fortnight as the time for real action.
“Off the back of the good work of the state-federal housing infrastructure deal, and the Queensland Government’s Residential Activation Fund to unlock new residential land, we need to keep the momentum going,” he said.
“We have a $69 billion pipeline of work through to 2031-32, and a workforce shortage continuing to bite. These conditions demand targeted investment. In the state budget, we will be looking for meaningful wage subsidies to support employers in the expensive task of training the next generation of apprentices and getting the tax settings right to boost housing affordability and supply.
“Our industry needs to be supported to deliver – not weighed down by complexity and unnecessary costs.”
