Metricon Homes has maintained its position as Australia’s largest residential builder for the ninth consecutive year, according to a new report.
The latest HIA-COLORBOND steel Housing 100 Report, which ranks the country’s top 100 residential builders based on the number of homes commenced each year, revealed Metricon Homes reported 3,894 new home sales across four states during 2023/24.
HIA Chief Economist Tim Reardon said this achievement comes despite a market slowdown in demand due to rising interest rates.
“A decade of dominance is looking for Metricon Homes as they are, for the ninth consecutive year, the nation’s largest residential builder,” Mr Reardon said.
In a close second place, ABN Group reported 3,881 home sales, just 13 fewer than Metricon.
Mr Reardon said that stronger market conditions in Western Australia and growth in Victoria have helped ABN consolidate its position.
Meriton Apartments rounded out the top three with 3,291 starts shared across New South Wales and Queensland, jumping from fourth place last year.
Meriton was also ranked as the top apartment builder in the country with 3,277 unit sales.
The report highlighted that market confidence is returning to the new home market, with interest rates remaining on hold for ten consecutive months.
Low unemployment levels and strong population growth have driven ongoing demand for new homes, despite increased borrowing costs and a decline in household consumption.
However, Mr Reardon said that the recovery in market confidence isn’t evenly distributed across the different states and regions, impacting the results of this year’s Housing 100.
Looking ahead, leading indicators suggest that the volume of home building activity is set to increase in the second half of 2024 and into 2025.
Mr Reardon said that local factors such as land prices and state government taxes are increasingly dominating the outlook for home building.
“Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia appear set to see an increase in building activity,” he said.
“Population growth through the pandemic and then a return of overseas migration have seen a stabilisation of building levels in 2023/24 similar to that seen immediately prior to the pandemic.”
“This bodes well for a more stable return to building activity in future years,” he said.
