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Six months after its launch, NSW’s $1 house design scheme has failed to deliver any new homes despite being intended to fast-track construction and fix Sydney’s housing crisis.
Since its launch six months ago, the NSW government’s $1 housing design solution to fix the city's housing constraints has failed to deliver, with no pre-approved builds having commenced construction.
The pattern book, launched in July 2025 as part of a series of changes to clear red tape and supercharge development, contains ready-made designs for multi-dwelling buildings, terraces, townhouses, and manor home apartments.
In a bid to significantly speed up the delivery of new homes, the eight low-rise designs were offered to landowners for $1 in the first six months.
The scheme also includes access to a 10-day approval pathway, enabling purchasers of the designs the opportunity to fast-track approval applications for the new builds.
As revealed by the Daily Telegraph, only eight projects using the ready-made designs have been approved, and none have started construction.
The masthead also reported that just 18 projects using the pattern book designs have been submitted for planning approval.
Of the 21,000 purchased designs, 17,000 were for NSW homes, while more than 400 patterns were used for overseas dwellings, with the remainder across the rest of Australia.
From January 31, the design prices will increase to $1,000, which the government said was a fraction of typical custom architectural fees.
In November last year, nine mid-rise designs by leading architects were added to the book for three to six-storey apartment buildings.
The mid-rise designs are available to buy for $1,500 for small-lot and corner-lot designs, and $2,500 for large-lot designs, until 31 May.
According to the state government, the designs were intended to be affordable, easy to build, and sustainable, while being adaptable to different family sizes and housing needs.
“This includes different room formations and layout, helping to create vibrant, diverse communities that reflect the people who live in them,” the NSW government said.
The new findings came after NSW recorded its highest housing completion numbers in five years, with 13,057 homes completed from July to September 2025.
With 75,000 homes under construction, housing completions in the state have been trending up by 37 per cent in the September quarter compared to the June quarter, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
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