Queensland builds record number of dwellings

THE number of Queensland dwellings built has peaked at 48,151 for the 2016-17 financial year, with units and detached housing each representing 50 per cent.

Completions are up 24% over the year, with the majority being units located in inner Brisbane and Gold Coast.

Units have increased by a staggering 45%, while houses were up by nine per cent.

Master Builders deputy CEO Paul Bidwell said while the record result was welcome, it’s no surprise that commencements are waning, confirming the forecast from earlier in the year that the party was over for the unit sector.

“While overall dwelling commencements were down by 12%, the unit market was entirely responsible for the drop, falling by 24% over the year,” Mr Bidwell said.

“We anticipate the trend will continue based on the recent building approvals released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics last week.

“Unit approvals for August 2017 are down 41% for the 12 month period highlighting that the unit pipeline is closing quickly.

“We are pleased to see that in comparison, approvals for houses have remained steady, rising by 0.5%.

“ABS regional building approvals released yesterday tell the story of solid regional performance, while Brisbane and Gold Coast markets continue to cool.

“At a regional level, the Sunshine Coast is clearly outperforming all other regions with strong performance in both the residential and non-residential areas.

“And in some good news for the resource regions, Central Queensland recorded a whopping 62.5% increase for the month and showed some consistency with an 11.2% increase over the year.

“Mackay & Whitsunday was close behind with an increase of 57.7%.”