New Home Demand Hits High
Despite rising construction and land costs, buyer demand for new housing has hit its highest level in four years.
Data from REA Group shows that searches for new homes are highest in Queensland, which accounted for 31% of all new home searches in January. New South Wales is next, 20% and then Victoria at 18%.
Buyers are particularly attracted to house and land packages with 80% of searches in the second half of 2025 for house-and-land, 13% for new units and 7% for land-only.
REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty says that new home demand is picking up after several very difficult years for the construction industry.
“We are seeing more prospective buyers return to the market as cost pressures ease and policy support for first-home buyers expands,” she says.
Interest in new housing last peaked in 2020, when the Federal Government’s HomeBuilder program led to a surge in building contracts and project launches.
Flaherty says while building costs remain elevated, the rate of increase has slowed and is now closer to long-run averages.
“Greater predictability around construction pricing is encouraging more buyers to explore new builds again,” she says.
