Housing commencements and completions have fallen sharply in the ACT, with just 561 homes started and 667 completed in the latest quarter, according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

Property Council ACT & Capital Region Executive Director Ashlee Berry said commencements had fallen below 600 homes in a quarter only five times since 2010, with the latest result the third lowest since March 2018.

Completions were the second lowest quarterly result since housing construction stalled during covid in 2020.

“Every commencement is a future completion, and every delayed project means fewer homes reaching the market in the years ahead,” Berry said.

She said the average ACT residential project now takes about 12 months to complete, compared with about nine months a decade ago, while rising construction costs, workforce pressures, taxes, charges and regulatory requirements continued to affect project viability.

The Property Council said improving development feasibility and investor confidence would be critical to increasing Canberra’s housing supply.

Australia’s goal of building 1.2 million homes in five years has slipped further out of reach, even though the number of homes under construction is the highest on record.

The nation completed 355,817 dwellings in the first two years of the National Housing Accord, which started in July 2024.

By the end of June 2026, Australia needed to have built 480,000 new homes to be on track to hit the target by the end date of mid-2029, meaning the sector is short 124,183 homes.

The industry is picking up pace, at least.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday reported 47,168 homes were built in the June quarter.

While that’s below the required run rate of about 70,000 per quarter, it’s better than the 44,592 dwellings completed in the three months ended March.

The total number of dwellings commenced in the quarter also rose.

New housing starts were up seven per cent to 52,201, driven by an 11.6 per cent jump in detached houses, while apartments and townhouses were basically unchanged.

Total dwellings under construction climbed to 248,733 – the highest number on record.

With data centre investment also fuelling a surge in non-residential construction, the total value of work done climbed to $45.8 billion in the quarter – 10 per cent higher than the June quarter 2025.

-with AAP

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