The Friday Intelligence Briefing · by BuilderHQ
The Build Brief
Five minutes on the economics of getting homes built in Australia. The numbers, the decisions and the shifts that matter, set out plainly enough to act on.
Plain · Sourced · Every Friday
Building a home asks a great deal of the people who take it on, and the information around it is often scattered, technical, or quietly out of date. Each Friday, The Build Brief takes the week in residential construction and reads it through four windows at once: the homeowners and developers taking projects on, the designers shaping them, the builders pricing and delivering them, and the brokers financing them.
Issue 015
Friday, 30 October 2026
Inflation rose more than the RBA expected, ahead of its 3 November cash rate decision.
Trimmed mean inflation rose 1.0% in the September quarter. Economists say the Reserve Bank's August forecasts implied about 0.8%. The four major banks now forecast a cash rate rise, and the RBA will announce its decision on Tuesday 3 November.
4.85%
The Rate
the cash rate forecast by the four major banks if the RBA raises it by 25 basis points on 3 November
28 Oct
The Garden
the date uncovered driveways and uncovered car parking areas began counting towards Victoria's minimum garden area
$80,000
The Register
fine imposed on an unregistered person who undertook a $170,000 renovation
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Issue 014
Friday, 23 October 2026
Victoria's faster planning pathway for up to four homes is now live.
Since 22 October, eligible proposals of up to four homes on one lot can go through VicSmart, which has a 10-business-day timeframe for a decision. A week earlier, small second homes of up to 80 sqm stopped needing a planning permit in most cases.
Up to 4
Planning
homes on one lot can now use VicSmart, with a 10-business-day timeframe
80 sqm
Second homes
size limit for a small second home without a planning permit, in most cases
−23.3%
The market
fall in Victorian new home sales in the September quarter, HIA survey
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Issue 013
Friday, 9 October 2026
Victoria's housing starts reached their highest level since March 2023.
Victoria started 16,239 homes in the June quarter and national starts rose 7.0%, while annual completions in Victoria barely changed. The state's building contract reforms must now start by 31 March 2027, not 1 December 2026. This week's Feature shows what a BuilderHQ cost estimate contains.
16,239
The Pipeline
homes started in Victoria in the June quarter, seasonally adjusted
31 Mar 2027
The Rules
latest start date for Victoria's domestic building contract reforms
33,413
The Buffer
of them in Victoria, about a third of the national total
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Issue 012
Friday, 2 October 2026
Approvals fell 6.1% in August, while house approvals rose 3.7%.
Total dwelling approvals fell 6.1% in August, while private house approvals rose 3.7%. The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate to 4.60% in the same week that annual growth in new dwelling prices eased. NSW is also now funding councils that assess development applications faster.
+3.7%
The Pipeline
private house approvals, August 2026
4.60%
The Rate
cash rate, raised on 29 September 2026
78
The Process
days, average assessment time across the 44 councils that qualified
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Issue 011
Friday, 18 September 2026
New home sales fell 10% nationally in August, and 27% in Victoria over three months
New home sales fell for the fourth consecutive month in August, and Victoria recorded the largest fall over the three months to August. Builders are still working through projects sold earlier, but fewer new projects are now being signed. At the same time, the average new house is getting larger while block sizes continue to fall.
-27%
New home sales
Victorian new home sales, three months to August 2026, against the previous three months
241.5
Home size
square metres, average new house completed in 2024-25
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Issue 010
Friday, 11 September 2026
Victoria announces 10 business day assessments for eligible developments of up to four homes
Victoria has announced a faster planning assessment pathway for eligible developments of up to four homes on a block. A new report finds that a median-income household can afford around 12% of the homes sold nationally. And the Reserve Bank has signalled that another rate rise remains possible in September.
10
Planning approvals
business days to assess an eligible development of up to four homes on one block
12%
Housing affordability
share of homes sold that a median-income household can afford to repay
29 Sept
Interest rates
the Reserve Bank’s next decision, announced at 2.30pm
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Issue 009
Friday, 4 September 2026
A regulator just described the problem we write about every week.
ASIC found most home insurance claims it reviewed included a cash settlement, and on cyclone claims the offer was often built from a single quote the insurer had chosen. Victoria was the only large state where dwelling approvals rose in July. And the forecasts do not have it hitting its housing target in any year they cover.
63%
The Quote
of reviewed home insurance claims included a cash settlement
+9.7%
The Pipeline
Victorian dwelling approvals, July 2026
56,630
The Forecast
homes started in Victoria in 2025
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Issue 008
Friday, 28 August 2026
More work is coming. Fewer people are learning to do it.
Home building is up 9.1% for the year. Victoria is busy and the ACT is not. The number of apprentices learning a construction trade is the lowest in five years. A large builder has gone into administration, so we set out what that means for the owners. And designers are starting to bring us their projects.
+9.1%
The Work
home building work done, year to June 2026
2,000
The Process
homes reported under construction when administrators were appointed
105,790
The Workforce
people training in a construction trade, end of 2025
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Issue 007
Friday, 21 August 2026
Victoria is rewriting when the money moves, and every reform date now sits on one timeline.
Draft regulations on deposits and progress payments are open for consultation. A Royal Commission has been appointed into major public construction. New home sales fell for a third month. And every Victorian building reform date, checked against the legislation register and set out in order.
5%
The Money
cap on cost escalation, and only on contracts of $1 million or more
20 Aug
The Inquiry
Royal Commission appointed, Terms of Reference released
-3.7%
Demand
new home sales, July 2026
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Issue 006
Friday, 14 August 2026
Almost 70% of apartments approved since 2020 have never started, and Victoria rewrote the building contract.
A Reuters analysis found almost 70% of apartments approved across Australia since 2020 have never started construction. The Reserve Bank held the cash rate and forecast home building to shrink. Sydney has a 20 year plan built on feasible capacity. And Victoria's new building contract rules start 1 December.
62%
The Number
Melbourne apartments approved since 2020 that have not started construction
4.35%
Market Mood
cash rate, held for a second meeting in a row
30
The Plan
years of feasible housing capacity councils must hold in their planning controls
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Issue 005
Friday, 7 August 2026
New home contract cancellations jumped 50%, and the SMSF borrowing ban starts Monday.
Cancellations of new home contracts rose 50% in June while sales for the year were up 18.4%. From Monday, self-managed super funds can no longer borrow to buy residential property. Home values fell 0.7% in July. And from July 2027, negative gearing follows new builds only.
+50%
Demand Watch
jump in new home contract cancellations, June 2026
-0.7%
Value Watch
national home values, July 2026
76%
Workforce
of current apprentices had not considered leaving
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Issue 004
Friday, 31 July 2026
The average new house is declared at $517,430 before land, and Victoria resets its workmanship benchmark.
The average new Australian house was declared at $517,430 of building work at permit stage last financial year, before land. Inflation eased enough to take an August rate rise off the table. And from 1 August, Victoria’s revised Guide to Standards and Tolerances sets the benchmark for judging workmanship.
$517,430
Cost Pulse
average declared build cost of a new private house, 2025-26
3.8%
Market Mood
annual CPI inflation, 12 months to June 2026
1.5 m
The Rulebook
the distance a wall, ceiling or floor finish is assessed from
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Issue 003
Friday, 24 July 2026
The cost base restarts, the failure rate turns, and a 20-day house.
Construction costs picked up again in the June quarter. Construction insolvencies fell for the first time in five years. And a Melbourne pilot went from slab to practical completion in 20 business days.
+1.0%
Cost Pulse
national construction cost growth, June quarter 2026
24.4%
The Number
construction's share of all company administrations, 1 July 2025 to 31 May 2026
20
Method
business days from slab to practical completion, Metricon prefab pilot
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Issue 002
Friday, 17 July 2026
Victoria's new building rules, the labour squeeze, and the return of negotiation.
Victoria's building rules changed on 1 July. Australia is now the world's most labour-constrained construction market. And auctions are giving way to negotiation.
243,864
The Number
dwellings under construction, March quarter 2026
100%
Cost Pulse
Australian and New Zealand cities reporting construction labour shortages
30%
Market Mood
national auction share of new listings, June 2026
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Issue 001
Friday, 10 July 2026
We need 60,000 housing starts a quarter. We are not there yet.
Dwelling commencements against the 1.2 million home target, May building approvals, rising construction costs, and how to compare three builder quotes fairly.
48,012
The Number
dwelling commencements, March quarter 2026
-10.4%
Approval Watch
medium-density approvals, May
+5.6%
Cost Pulse
new dwelling price growth, year to May
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A BuilderHQ Perspective
23 July 2026
Australian construction doesn't have a building problem. It has a procurement problem.
Design, engineering and delivery have all been modernised. The way Australians choose, compare and appoint a builder has not.
The BuilderHQ Editorial Team · Opinion, BuilderHQ5 min read
A Founder Perspective
14 July 2026
Why choosing a builder still comes down to word of mouth
And why Australia's construction industry needs a better procurement model.
Moe Akbulut · Founder, BuilderHQ6 min read
Market Watch
Three signals from the week's data: housing starts, building approvals, construction costs and lending. Every number attributed to its source.
The Feature
One practical topic taken apart properly, from comparing builder quotes to contracts, allowances and approvals.
Project of the Week
A recognised Australian home worth studying, and what makes it work.
Voices
What economists, industry bodies and practitioners are actually saying about the market.
Partner Corner
A design or finance partner from the BuilderHQ register, and why we would put our name behind them.