Build times for homes in Australia at a 15-year high, plus further updates

For PropertyGuru’s real estate news roundup, learn why building times are at a 15-year high in Australia nowadays. In other headlines, the opening plenary of the climate conference COP29 was delayed by a formal submission by China, India, and some other countries to discuss climate change-related trade measures. Lastly, there are concerns about the sharp increase in real estate credit, which is higher than the general credit growth of the entire Vietnam economy.

Why are building times at a 15-year high in Australia?

It takes almost 50 percent longer to build a house now than it did four years ago, and build times for all home types are at their longest since records began in 2010, recent data shows.

The time it takes for a home to be built has risen substantially in the past few years due to several persistent factors, including material and labour costs.

According to PopTrack, recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that average build times in the 2024 financial year were 13 months for houses, 16 months for townhouses, and 33 months for apartments.

While this reflects a 3 percent, 7 percent and 10 percent annual increase in build times for each respective property type, the growth since the pandemic has been a lot larger, especially for houses. It takes four months, almost 50 percent longer to build a home now than in 2020.

Build times for apartments and townhouses are around 20 percent longer.

Why India and China have pushed against climate change-related trade measures at COP29

A formal submission by China, India, and some other countries to discuss climate change-related trade measures such as those introduced in the European Union (EU) delayed the opening plenary of the climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday (11th November) by several hours. The request was eventually put aside for the time being but the issue is unlikely to wither away.

The Indian Express reports that trade restrictions on grounds of promoting climate objectives are expected to trigger many more battles, and result in greater protectionism and disruptions in global supply chains. It could also lead to some positives such as greater innovation in green technologies, and the adoption of higher environmental standards. At least that is the hope. However, as it happens in most cases, countries with limited capabilities and resources might find themselves at great disadvantage.

Vietnam’s high real estate credit growth raises concern

There is a concern about risks that can arise as real estate credit has increased sharply in recent years, particularly by the end of September, higher than the general credit growth of the entire economy.

In a recent meeting of the National Assembly, State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s Governor Nguyen Thi Hong said real estate loans by the end of September this year were VND3.15 quadrillion (USD124.58 billion), up 9.15 percent compared to the end of last year. The rise was also 0.15 percent higher than the general credit growth rate of the entire economy.

Notably, real estate business credit increased by 16 percent by the end of September 2024, while consumer real estate credit increased by only 4.6 percent. This caused the proportion of real estate business credit to surge to 40 percent, while the proportion of consumer credit declined to 60 percent.

Nguyen Quang Huy, a financial expert from Nguyen Trai University, said in VietnamPlus that the SBV has introduced many management policies to control credit flows into real estate. Still, real estate credit growth remained higher than the general credit growth of the entire economy.

Therefore, risk control will face many challenges.

The Property Report editors wrote this article. For more information, email: [email protected].