This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
METRICON has topped the list of Australian builders for annual housing starts for a sixth year in a row, as the federal government’s HomeBuilder package pulled forward demand across the country.
The 2020/21 HIA-Colorbond Steel Housing 100 report ranks Australia’s top 100 residential builders based on the number of home builds commenced each year.
Metricon topped the list with a total of 6,052 starts, across Victoria, Queensland, NSW and South Australia. Its site starts increased by 33% year-on-year. In Queensland alone, it saw 604 site starts grow to 1,177 over the year.
“The federal government’s HomeBuilder scheme, lower interest rates, and increased consumer desire to live in new homes, many away from high-density areas, have facilitated a huge surge in demand for new detached homes,” Metricon CEO Mario Biasin said, adding that the group has again increased its “share of the national residential build market during this boom time for construction”.
Moving up from fourth last year the second most active builder in was ABN Group with 5,345 starts, followed by MJH Group with 4,548 starts.
Fourth was BGC Housing Group, up to 4,205, Hutchies dropped from second with 3,015.
Rounding out the top 10 were Simonds Group (2,719 starts), AHB, which bolted from 14th, GJ Gardener Homes, Henley Properties and another bolter, Silvestro Building Group, up from 17th, came into tenth with 2,055 starts.
“The past year has been a remarkable year for home building. We are seeing a record number of detached homes commence construction while at the same time, apartment construction is in the midst of a significant slump,” HIA chief economist, Tim Reardon said.
“The majority of builders increased their number of dwelling starts in 2020/21 compared to the previous year. Those that didn’t were more likely to be in the multi-unit market.
“In this market, it is not surprising that detached home builders have dominated the list of the most active home builders in Australia.”
Building approvals peaked in March, as the country was reopening and Australians sought to take advantage of the HomeBuilder package before it wound up at the end of the month. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics for July showed the number of home approvals at 11,671 and apartments and townhouses approvals to 5,679, with the total some 25% below the March figure.
BIS Oxford Economics believes the construction boom sparked by HomeBuilder will be picked up by the apartment sector in the coming years, driven by new public transport links, public housing renewal programs and the emerging build-to-rent sector.
Biasin said Metricon agrees with “the states and federal governments, that vaccination is the most pragmatic pathway to a life out of lockdown, consistent business operations and keeping our employees, trades and customers safe”.
