Generational Housing Crisis Demands Generational Response

For 20 years Grove has been delivering mission-critical modular builds across government and private sectors. Now scaling into land lease and masterplanned communities in partnership with the Australian property sector, chief executive Brenton Grove explains how modular can help solve the national housing crisis...

Every week that passes, Australia falls another 1230 homes behind.

In the year to March 2025, just 175,600 homes began construction—more than 64,000 short of the 240,000 required to meet national housing targets.

This isn’t a problem of ambition or approvals, it’s a problem of delivery. Homes are not being built fast enough, and the gap between policy and reality is widening by the week.

That’s not political rhetoric. That’s a measurable deficit of roofs, communities, schools, and opportunities.

And the question echoing across governments, developers, funds, and everyday Australians is the same: how do we deliver at scale?

For those waiting for the right time to act—it’s here.

The planning environment is no longer the bottleneck it once was. Governments are aligning behind housing targets with clearer approval pathways, and councils are starting to prioritise outcomes over process.

▲ Grove Group chief executive Brenton Grove: For those waiting for the right time to act—it’s here.

Rezoning frameworks are being recalibrated to open up new supply corridors, and in many cases, authorities are actively seeking partnerships that can deliver at scale. What was once a fragmented system is beginning to act with urgency—and in alignment.

The market is responding too. Australians, from downsizers and renters to essential workers and young families, are actively seeking housing that is modern, affordable, and community-oriented.

Demand isn’t just growing, it’s evolving.

Land lease communities are thriving, not just as an affordability solution, but because they speak to the needs of a lifestyle-conscious Australian buyer: low maintenance, strong community, amenity-rich environments, and financial flexibility.

At the same time, build-to-rent is gaining momentum particularly among developers with landbanks seeking to unlock value without waiting for traditional pre-sales.

It provides a way to generate long-term annuity streams, retain capital growth, and move fast.

Both models—land lease and build-to-rent—are being driven by market appetite and both rely on one thing above all: delivery partners who can build at speed, with certainty, and at scale.

That’s where modular shines, and where Grove has demonstrated what’s possible when urgency meets execution.

 From the 2006 Commonwealth Games Athlete Village to the National Quarantine Centres during Covid, to rapid school and kindergarten programs, Grove has delivered modular solutions at scale.

The outdated view that speed and quality are incompatible is over.

▲ Inside the bathroom of a Grove home.

Today, we’re building modular homes that are architecturally considered, environmentally efficient, competitively priced and capable of being deployed en masse and without compromise.

But we’re not the solution—at least not in isolation.

The solution lies in bringing the right ecosystem together: developers, land lease operators, architects, planners, and forward-thinking delivery partners.

The system is now stacked in our favour, but it will take early adopters, genuine collaborators, and industry leaders to seize the opportunity in front of us.

So, the question is no longer if we can do this, rather, what will it take for the right people to come together?

If you’re a developer with land, an operator with pipeline, or an architect ready to deliver at scale—we need to talk.

This isn’t a test case. It’s the rollout. But this thing won’t build itself.

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