GLOPRAGlobal Property Radar

Australia: dwelling commencements rose 7.0% to 52,201 in the June quarter

Builders started 52,201 Australian homes in the June quarter, 7.0% more than in March, and completions ran 15.9% above the same quarter of 2025.

The facts

  • The quarterly change in total dwelling commencements was +7.0%, taking them to 52,201 dwellings in the June quarter 2026, seasonally adjusted.
  • New private sector house commencements rose 11.6% to 31,707 dwellings, while new private sector other residential commencements fell 0.1% to 19,126.
  • Dwellings completed totalled 47,168, up 5.8% on the quarter and 15.9% on the same quarter a year earlier.
  • Within completions, new private houses numbered 27,039, down 1.9% over the year, while other residential reached 19,018, up 58.6% over the year.
  • The value of total building work done rose 1.1% to 45.8 billion Australian dollars, of which new residential work was 23.6 billion.
  • Dwellings under construction totalled 248,733, including 95,447 new houses, on the original series.

What it means for your money

  • More supply is on the way. Builders started 52,201 homes in the quarter, 7.0% more than in the one before.
  • The apartment side moved most: other residential completions were 58.6% above a year earlier, and that is the segment our own Australian yield is measured on.
  • Our own Australian figures for the apartment segment give a gross rental yield of 4.89%, from an asking price and an asking rent taken from the same publisher and the same week.
  • A non-resident keeps less of it than the headline suggests: in our own figures Australian rental income carries a flat 30% tax, with no tax-free threshold.

What to watch

  • The pair to follow in the next quarterly release is commencements against completions: 52,201 started against 47,168 finished this quarter.
  • Commencements, completions and work done here are seasonally adjusted, while dwellings under construction is the original series, so the two are not on the same basis.
  • This release is building activity, not building approvals. The two are separate statistical series with different reference periods.

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/building-and-construction/building-activity-australia/jun-2026

Market data: Australia