Building Prices to Spike

The cost of building a new home continues to rise as the price of some materials increases at four times the rate of inflation.

Altus Group’s Australian construction price outlook – Q4 2025, shows that copper prices in particular have spiked by 16.5% in the past 12 months.

The increase is on the back of rising demand from electrification, renewables and data centres.

Altus Group’s Head of Development Advisory APAC, Niall McSweeney, says unlike timber or steel, copper can’t be substituted once building starts – it’s embedded in late-stage trades like electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, trapping developers into having to pay the higher costs.

He says concrete costs are also climbing.

The report says Brisbane has overtaken Sydney as Australia’s most expensive city to build in, as Olympic infrastructure projects lead to increasing demand for trades.

Longer construction timelines are also leading to additional costs.

According to Altus, although housing approvals and commencements have lifted, completions have not. It says there is “growing evidence” that some approvals are being pursued to lift land values, rather than to progress delivery.