This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
METRICON has been named Australia’s number one home builder for the eighth consecutive year, however the industry has contracted with the number of homes built down compared with the last couple of years.
The HIA ranked Australia’s top 100 residential builders based on the number of home builds commenced each year.
Metricon top the list with a total of 4693 starts in 2022/23 across Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia.
HIA chief economist Tim Reardon said whilst Metricon Homes remained on top of this year’s list, the number of homes built was down compared with the last couple of years.
“A drop off in activity was reported by three quarters of the businesses on the list, with the lower numbers reflecting the challenging conditions facing the industry over the last year,” he added.
“In 2021 and 2022 the industry grappled with a rapid escalation in the cost of construction, with materials in short supply and acute shortages of skilled workers. Throughout 2022/23 the industry faced the added challenge of rapidly rising interest rates.
“While there has been a heavy focus on the impact of higher borrowing rates on households with mortgages and the effect on demand for new homes, the higher borrowing costs also put further pressure on business margins during the year,” Reardon continued.
Metricon CEO Brad Duggan said Metricon’s strategic focus was very much about being the best, rather than the biggest.
“More than 90 families every week chose to commence building with Metricon in the past year, trusting us with the most important purchase of their lives. This is testament to the passion of our team including our skilled tradespeople and trusted suppliers.
“Now that our supply chain is more stable, Metricon’s primary focus for the next 12 months and beyond, with the support of our suppliers and trades, is to consistently provide value for money and affordability, while prioritising speed and efficiency in the construction process to deliver high-quality homes,” said Duggan.
Nationally, there has been a decrease of 1,276 Metricon site starts compared to their 2021/2022 figures, which aligns with pre-pandemic levels and closely mirrors Metricon’s forecast and planning for the next three years.
ABN Group were the second largest home builder, up to two places compared to last year with 3,506 homes built across the Victorian and West Australian markets. Although ABN Group was the highest ranked of the 26 builders who reported an annual increase in building activity.
NXT Building Group rounded out the top three with 2,865 starts shared across New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT.
Harry Triguboff’s Meriton ranked fourth with 2,267 new homes built and it was the top ranked apartment builder in the country. Hutchinson Builders ranked as the second largest apartment builder with 1,332 homes built, narrowly ahead of the Mirvac with 1,258.
Reardon said industry conditions will remain challenging in the year ahead with indicators suggest that the volume of home building activity may fall further before a meaningful recovery takes hold.
“Looking further out along the forecast horizon there will be better opportunities for the industry with the Australian government having stated their objective of building 1.2 million homes over the next five years.
“This implies the industry will need to undertake a level of home building that has never been achieved in the past. This ambitious goal was set with full knowledge that it won’t be achievable under existing policy settings. A well thought out reform agenda will be required.
“Governments around the country must work together to eliminate inefficiencies in planning systems, reform the inefficient taxes on housing, develop mechanisms to fund enabling infrastructure and increase the capacity of the construction workforce,” he concluded.
