Housing approvals surge to eight-year high

9 August 2026

Almost 53,000 new homes were given a green light in the June quarter, in what was the strongest quarter for housing approvals nationally in eight years.

Housing approvals jumped 3.5 percent in the three months through June compared to the prior period, to 52,793 approvals nationally. That surge was thanks to a strong uptick in the number of housing approvals in the regions, according to new analysis by KPMG Australia. 

The number of new housing approvals outside of the capital cities was more than 15,760, the highest number of new housing approvals in the regions since September 2021, and up sharply from around 14,470 the previous quarter.

“We haven’t seen approvals at this level across regional Australia since the COVID boom of 2020 and 2021,” said KPMG senior economist Terry Rawnsley.

"The rise in regional approvals reflects a broad economic shift underway across Australia, with many regional and smaller cities continuing to attract population growth, workers and investment. As those communities expand, housing supply will be critical to sustaining that economic momentum.

“While these are positive signs, we still aren’t producing enough homes at the right price points to ease housing affordability, so more work is still required.”

Brisbane and Sydney were the strongest-performing major capital cities, with approvals jumping 14.5 percent in Brisbane and 15.4 percent in Sydney over the quarter.

“Sydney has been able to sustain an average of 9,000 dwellings for the past seven quarters, so there is the momentum in that market is encouraging,” Mr Rawnsley said.

“Housing approvals in Brisbane and Sydney are accelerating, and most markets are still running above their long-term averages.”

In Melbourne, approvals fell 12 percent in the June quarter with 9,921 approvals, following a 12.9 percent increase from the previous quarter. The June 2026 quarter is below the long-term average of 11,397.

“While Melbourne took a breather this quarter, the broader trend remains positive. Australia's two largest housing markets, Sydney and Melbourne, are still generating almost 20,000 approvals between them each quarter, while Brisbane continues to establish itself as one of the nation's fastest-growing residential development markets,” Mr Rawnsley said.

Adelaide saw a 5 percent increase in housing approvals for the quarter, outperforming its long-term average.  The number of housing approvals in Perth eased 11.9 percent with 5,458 approvals for the period, but still above the long-term average of 4,328.

Hobart and Darwin also saw a sharp lift in approvals in the June quarter, highlighting the increasing importance of economic activity in smaller cities as they absorb population growth.  KPMG’s recent Enterprising Cities report showed that these markets retained a relative affordability advantage over larger capitals, reinforcing the need for continued housing development to sustain growth and attract workers and investment.

“However, stronger approval numbers alone will not solve Australia’s housing shortage,” Mr Rawnsley said.

“Planning approval is only the first step. Developers still need the labour and materials to turn approvals into homes.”

“Delivering more homes requires more construction workers, creating a catch-22 for many markets that are already struggling to accommodate additional workers.”

"We are in this position where we need more construction workers to help deliver more housing, but we are faced with the situation where we can’t house additional workers in many cities,” he said.

“The next hurdle is capacity. As approvals increase, the construction sector will need a larger workforce to convert projects into housing supply.”