Project Completion Times Blow Out Past Six Years

It is taking 2½ years longer on average for projects to reach completion than five years ago, fresh data has revealed. In the past five years, the development timeframe—from filing the application to the project completing—has blown out from 45 months on average to 75 months. And that’s not the only thing that has blown out. In Brisbane, the weighted average pre-sales or under-construction price of a new apartment has topped $2 million for the first time, according to the Urbis Apartment Essentials Report, which Urbis director of economics Paul Riga said was indicative of a few countervailing forces, namely the cost of construction in the Sunshine State. Riga said construction times and costs were having a direct impact on the volume of completed supply in the market. “In Melbourne, Perth and Sydney we are seeing positive momentum in sales as a proportion increasing above historical averages, they’re starting to tick upwards,” Riga said, “whereas Brisane is coming off an unprecedented high. “It’s a very high price point for the market, but that’s what works and that’s what developers are targeting.” Second quarter 2024 prices, rents Australian apartments City Pre-sales and under construction average price Completed existing apartment average weekly rent Sydney $1.1 million $800 Melbourne $0.92 million $640 Brisbane $2.2 million $695 Gold Coast $1.8 million $798 Perth $0.91 million $685 National $1.3 million $700 Source: Urbis Apartment Essentials Database Riga said limited supply and high construction costs had pushed up the weighted average sale price in Brisbane to be the most expensive in Australia at $2.2 million, according to Urbis’s data. The Gold Coast also recorded strong sales prices of $1.8 million on average. South-East Queensland was still targeting the high-end of the market, while Melbourne, Sydney and Perth had recorded a high volume of one-bedroom apartments being sold and more mid-market product being delivered. Nationally, the challenges with activating sites and unlocking development opportunities was leading to extended planning through to completion times, according to Riga. The biggest additions to timeframes in the past five years were in the average time to launch after receiving approval and the average time to build. “The timeframes in getting those projects completed have to be considered, they’re not coming to settlement as quickly as they used to, which impacts forward forecasts,” Riga said. “In most of the capital cities we are looking at, much of the product is bought pre-completion so when a project is completed, most of the supply is already spoken for. “Looking at all the monitored projects in our database, in June, 2024 the average time for an apartment building to go from development application to built is currently 75 months. “Five years ago it took only 45 months. It is taking an extra 2.5 years on average to deliver completed developments [so] no wonder we are seeing constrained supply.”

Project Completion Times Blow Out Past Six Years

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Project Completion Times Blow Out Past Six Years

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