The annual Top Home Builders list from the Housing Industry Association has been released. The report rates Australia’s top home builders by the number of homes they begin each year.
This year saw particularly high numbers around the country, due to the record-breaking number of building approvals and new build loans experienced in 2020 and 2021. Big building companies were the winners, increasing their market share from 40 to 44 per cent.
Metricon Takes Out Top Spot
Metricon was the most prolific home builder this year, for the sixth year in a row. The company, which has been building homes since 1976, had 6,052 starts in the 2020-2021 period across Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Last year, their total was 4,534. Metricon experienced significant growth in Queensland, from 604 to 1177 site starts.
Other high-ranking building companies were ABN Group in second place (up from fourth in 2019-2020), MJH Group in third place (up from fifth in 2019-2020) and AHB Group in seventh place (up from fourteenth in 2019-2020).
AHB was also named the #2 builder in Victoria, and includes Sherridon Homes, Royston Homes, Marque Property Group, SOHO Living, First Place Building Company and Evo Homes.
"Considering the challenges of the past year, it’s incredibly humbling that so many Victorians have entrusted us to build their new home. We would like to acknowledge our staff, trades and suppliers for their dedication and commitment to overcome the difficult conditions of the past year and of course we couldn’t do it without our wonderful customers!"
Detached Houses Break Records with Apartment Builds Slump
Despite the great success of detached home building in the 2020-2021 period, apartment building has had a more difficult year. The highest ranked apartment builder with Hutchies, placing fifth overall. They are one of only three apartment builders in the top 20 this year. Their number of builds dropped since 2019-2021, from 3820 to 3015 this year.
“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,” said HIA chief economist Tim Reardon. “In this market, it is not surprising that detached home builders have dominated the list of the most active home builders in Australia.”
High Building Numbers Caused by Loans, Approvals and Grants
The 2020-2021 year has been an enormous one for home building. In February of this year, detached building approvals reached their highest level on record following six consecutive months of record highs.
The Federal Government’s HomeBuilder scheme, which was introduced to support the construction industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, largely contributed to the number of homes being built. Many first home buyers look advantage of the grants to buy land and build their first home, with owner-occupied loan approvals increasing by an average of 169 per cent around the country.
“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,” said Metricon CEO Mario Biasin.