Combined capitals measure across the eight capital cities.
Last updated 27 August 2026
Selected series for this market
Source: ABS Building Approvals 8731.0 · 2026 figure annualised from January–July data.
Source: ABS National, state and territory population
Builders are declining work that would have been taken without hesitation five years ago. Fixed-price contracts, insolvency risk and a thin subcontractor market are converting a planning problem into a delivery problem.
Gross yields above 4 per cent in three capitals, combined with a stable cash rate, have brought investors back into a market they largely vacated in 2023.
The May cut lifted median borrowing capacity by about $34,000. Sales volumes across the combined capitals are 2 per cent lower than the same period last year.
A data analysis of 1,240 suburbs identifies where the house-apartment relationship has inverted, and what those markets have in common.
The study finds that identical apartment layouts cost between 4 and 13 per cent more to deliver depending on the state in which they are built.
Construction capacity, not funding, is the binding constraint on the current social housing programme.