Renovations boom while new builds stall

A five-year surge in renovations and knock-down-and-rebuild work has tied up half of Australia’s home-building workforce and resources in projects that capitalise existing housing or replace it, rather than increasing overall stock, KPMG analysis shows.

High land prices discouraging owners from moving to a larger house and the supply-chain chaos of the pandemic that sapped builders’ appetite to take on small, two-townhouse developments lifted spending on one-for-one replacements and alterations and additions to 46 per cent of total dwelling investment nationally last year.