The largest 100 residential builders created 80 per cent of new houses last year, with the top company taking home bragging rights for the sixth consecutive year.
Metricon Homes took top honours for the 2021 financial year with 6052 new home starts, up from 4534 the previous year, in the HIA-Colourbond Steel Housing 100 Report.
Moving up from fourth position and becoming the second most active builder was ABN Group with 5345 starts, followed by MJH Group with 4548 starts.
Revenue for the top 100 builders also increased 31.4 per cent to $31.7 billion, spurred on by increased demand through the HomeBuilder grants.
This pushed the total number of new homes up 27 per cent, however, there was great disparity in the market.
Detached house starts increased by 49.1 per cent, while units fell by 20.7 per cent.
Top home builders for 2021
| Rank 2021 | Rank 2020 | Company | Starts 2021 | Starts 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Metricon Homes | 6052 | 4534 |
| 2 | 4 | ABN Group | 5345 | 3247 |
| 3 | 5 | MJH Group | 4548 | 2761 |
| 4 | 7 | BGC Housing Group | 4205 | 2332 |
| 5 | 2 | Hutchies | 3015 | 3820 |
| 6 | 6 | Simonds Group | 2719 | 2395 |
| 7 | 14 | AHB Group | 2688 | 1397 |
| 8 | 9 | GJ Gardner Homes (and franchise) | 2611 | 1913 |
| 9 | 10 | Henley Properties | 2129 | 1817 |
| 10 | 17 | Silvestro Building Group (SBG) Pty Ltd | 2055 | 1251 |
| 11 | 15 | Hickinbotham Group of Companies | 1976 | 1349 |
| 12 | - | Redink Homes Pty Ltd / 101 Residential Pty Ltd / B1 Homes Pty Ltd | 1803 | 741 |
| 13 | 12 | Porter Davis Homes | 1734 | 1493 |
| 14 | 11 | Carlisle Homes Pty Ltd | 1734 | 1495 |
| 15 | 18 | Burbank Group | 1604 | 1114 |
| 16 | - | Mirvac Group | 1560 | 290 |
| 17 | - | Clarendon Residential Group | 1500 | 954 |
| 18 | 16 | Creation Homes Group | 1474 | 1259 |
| 19 | - | Meriton Apartments | 1412 | 962 |
| 20 | 19 | Coral Homes | 1359 | 1098 |
^Source: HIA Economics, ranked by number of starts
HIA chief economist Tim Reardon said it was a remarkable year, impacted by the building boom and a lack of overseas migration.
“The majority of builders increased their number of dwelling starts in 2020-21 compared to the previous year. Those that didn’t were more likely to be in the multi-unit market,” he said.
“In this market, it is not surprising that detached home builders have dominated the list of the most active home builders in Australia.
“The largest apartment builder in this year’s report was Hutchies, who ranked as the fifth most active builder overall.
“They are one of only three apartment builders in the top 20 this year.”
The top builder for 2021 started on 5820 detached houses and 232 semi-detached dwellings. The biggest market growth for Metricon was seen in Queensland up 95 per cent from 604 starts to 1177 starts.
Metricon chief executive Mario Biasin said they recognise our fortunate position in an economic climate that has been challenging for so many others.
“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,” Biasin said.
“Our site starts increased by 33 per cent year on year, that represents another 1518 families building a new home with us this year or an additional 29 each week.”
