Login
iscover
The cost of building has pushed residential land sales to their lowest quarterly level in 25 years, new Housing Industry Association (HIA) data has revealed.
The steep decline comes as the cost of building has grown by nearly 40 per cent since 2019, raising concerns for future housing supply.
The HIA-Cotality Residential Land Report recorded just 8,250 lots sold nationally in the March Quarter 2025.
The report tracks sales activity in 52 housing markets across the country.
“The dramatic decline in lot sales across Australia coincided with the median price of residential land reaching a new high of $372,620 in the first quarter of the year, putting prices 39.2 per cent above their equivalent value in 2019,” said HIA senior economist Tom Devitt.
“From already weak levels, this deterioration in sales volumes, coinciding with record high lot prices, points to a worsening shortage of shovel ready land across the country.”
Devitt warned that the absence of a development pipeline will shift demand to established homes, driving up prices and worsening affordability.
He said planning approval delays were a major constraint, costing almost $20,000 and taking over half a year to secure.
Cotality economist, Kaytlin Ezzy, said rising construction costs were compounding the problem for new home builders.
“Adding to the impressive 37.4 per cent increase in land prices seen since the start of COVID, new home builders are also contending with elevated construction costs, with the June quarter Cordell Construction Cost Index, up 32 per cent since March 2020,” Ezzy said.
She warned that even modest recent increases in construction costs, alongside low land availability, would continue to restrict housing delivery and send both land and established dwelling prices higher.
[You might also like - Victoria’s building approval slump fuels rent and property price speculation]
You are not authorised to post comments.
Comments will undergo moderation before they get published.