Today's Building Activity data release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) also shows building starts remained sluggish, with a slight increase to 11,199 starts over the quarter, up from 10,223 in June 2024.
Property Council NSW Executive Director Katie Stevenson said ABS figures also reveal troubling delays in project completions, with new apartments taking more than 2.5 years to finish last financial year - the slowest pace in a decade.
"These figures from the September quarter highlight how critical it is for the state government and local councils to get behind the reforms now in place. There is an urgent need to accelerate the delivery of homes through the development pipeline," Ms Stevenson said.
"To remain on target to meet the state's commitments under the National Housing Accord, NSW must now deliver 19,251 new homes per quarter. We're more than 40% off target in this first quarter of the Housing Accord, and each quarter we fall short the task becomes even tougher.
"We need to be delivering 75,400 new homes a year for the five years to 2029, yet in NSW the last 12 months has seen just 45,692 completions and even fewer building starts - just 42,508 – further delaying the dream of home ownership or affordable rental for thousands of people across NSW."
Ms Stevenson noted that NSW ranked among the worst-performing states and territories for quarterly building completions under the Housing Accord, with only Tasmania and the Northern Territory falling further short of their quarterly targets.
"The data shows the national average variance against the National Housing Accord target was minus 25.2%, and NSW is lagging way behind this average and other jurisdictions, at minus 40.4%"
Ms Stevenson said the NSW Government has identified new infill apartments as central to solving the housing crisis, yet the data from last financial year shows a concerning slowdown with apartments taking more than 2.5 years on average to complete – their slowest pace for 10 years.
"This slowdown is likely driven by a combination of factors – high government taxes and charges impacting feasibility, delays in post-approval decision-making, and ongoing pressure from rising construction costs and labour shortages," she said.
"With significant reforms now in place, it's time to unlock the potential for new housing. Without swift action to increase supply and bring downward pressure on prices, the goal of affordable housing will continue to slip out of reach for many families and individuals," Ms Stevenson said.
