ABS data shows 52,567 homes under construction in Queensland at the end of June, up 35.6 per cent in two years. Annual completions rose 4.2 per cent over the same period, and that gap says more about the next two years than the headline does.

Queensland had 52,567 dwellings under construction at the end of June. That is the highest number in an Australian Bureau of Statistics series that starts in 1984, and the fourth record quarter in a row.

Two years ago the figure was 38,767.

The Queensland Government released the numbers on 11 October, alongside a sod turning for a new wastewater treatment plant in Logan. The headline is accurate. What sits underneath it matters more for anyone pricing work, booking trades or waiting on a final payment.

Queensland’s pipeline has grown faster than any other state’s

The ABS Building Activity release for the June quarter 2026, published on 7 October, puts Queensland’s pipeline 35.6 per cent above where it sat in June 2024.

No other state comes close over that period. Western Australia grew 24.9 per cent and South Australia 13.8 per cent. New South Wales rose 9.4 per cent and Victoria 1.1 per cent. The Northern Territory grew slightly faster in percentage terms, at 37.0 per cent, but from a base of a few hundred homes.

Growth is not the same as size. New South Wales still has 78,581 dwellings under construction and Victoria 63,375. Queensland ranks third.

It does hold a larger slice of the national total than it used to. Queensland accounts for about 21 per cent of the 248,733 dwellings under construction across Australia, up from about 18 per cent two years ago. The national figure is also a record, and Queensland is not the only state setting them. South Australia has also recorded four consecutive records, and Western Australia set a new high this quarter.

More work is starting than finishing

The pipeline grows when commencements outrun completions. In Queensland, that is exactly what has happened.

In the four quarters to June 2026, builders commenced 45,865 dwellings in Queensland and completed 34,627. That is about 75 homes finished for every 100 started. The difference, a little over 11,000 dwellings, almost exactly matches how much the pipeline grew over the year.

Completions are rising, just slowly. The annual total is 2.2 per cent higher than the year before and 4.2 per cent higher than two years ago. That is a genuine improvement. It is also well short of the 48,404 dwellings Queensland completed in 2016 to 17, the most in any financial year since 1994 to 95.

Most of the record is townhouses, units and apartments

Of the 52,567 dwellings under construction, 34,099 sit in what the ABS calls new other residential. That covers semis, townhouses, units and apartments. It is about 65 per cent of the pipeline. New houses account for 18,288.

Both categories have grown at close to the same rate over two years, about 36 per cent each. Because the other residential share was already the bigger one, it delivered most of the extra volume: roughly 9,000 of the additional 13,800 dwellings.

That changes how the record reads. Medium and high density work takes longer to finish, so a pipeline weighted toward it does not turn into keys on the same timeline a house pipeline would.

What “dwellings under construction” means

The ABS counts a dwelling as under construction from the quarter work starts until the quarter it is completed. It is a snapshot taken at a point in time, not a count of homes started or finished. A rising figure can mean more work is starting, work is taking longer to finish, or both.

Queensland apartments are taking around two and a half years to complete

Alongside the quarterly data, the ABS publishes average times from commencement to completion. For apartments completed in Queensland in 2025 to 26, the average was 10.03 quarters, or about two and a half years. In 2023 to 24 it was 7.33 quarters.

That makes Queensland apartments slower to finish than those in Victoria (8.35 quarters) and slower than the national average (9.54), and close to New South Wales (10.54).

Houses tell a different story. The average Queensland house completed in 2025 to 26 took 2.52 quarters, roughly seven and a half months, below the national average of 2.80. That is up from 2.36 quarters the year before, but below the 2.81 recorded in 2022 to 23. Townhouses held steady at 3.04 quarters.

A pipeline weighted toward apartments does not turn into keys on a house timeline.

Put together, a large share of the homes in today’s record will not be finished this financial year. On current averages, the apartment component is more likely to complete through 2027 and into 2028.

The government links the record to its supply programs

The Queensland Government credits its housing supply measures, led by the $2 billion Residential Activation Fund. The fund pays for trunk infrastructure such as water, sewerage and roads, and the government says it has now unlocked capacity for more than 166,000 homes.

At Logan, the government says $136 million from the fund is supporting the Chambers Flat Wastewater Treatment Plant. The plant will service future homes between Park Ridge and Yarrabilba, and is expected to unlock about 20,000 homes over coming years. Logan Mayor Jon Raven described wastewater capacity as a basic precondition for any new estate.

The timing deserves a closer look. As we reported in September, residential work from Round 2 of the fund is not expected before late 2028. Round 1 projects, funded from mid 2025 and including Chambers Flat, were still in their construction window this year. Infrastructure, lot registration and development approval all come before a home is commenced, so on that sequence the fund is unlikely to explain much of the June 2026 pipeline. The government itself describes the results as early signs, and its release flags that federal budget pressures are expected to show up in future quarters.

Approvals are sending mixed signals

Approvals come before commencements, so they are the best early read on whether the pipeline keeps growing.

The ABS Building Approvals release for August 2026 showed Queensland approvals falling 22.5 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms, to 3,327 dwellings. Monthly figures swing hard. The trend estimate, which smooths that volatility, was still rising at 4,462 dwellings.

Nationally, commencements have been running well ahead of completions for the past year. Queensland is the sharpest example of that pattern.

THE GOOD BUILDER TAKE

A record pipeline is good news for work volume. It is not the same thing as a record year for finished homes, and the difference lands on builders and trades first.

More homes in progress for longer means more capital tied up between progress claims, more jobs competing for the same trades, and more exposure to cost movements on long programs.

The number worth watching from here is completions. When Queensland’s annual completions start closing on its commencement rate, the pipeline will be doing what the headline suggests.

Frequently asked questions

Related articles

• Queensland Has Now Allocated the Whole $2 Billion Residential Activation Fund
• Australian Construction Industry Trends Guide

Last updated 15 October 2026. Data: ABS Building Activity, Australia, June 2026 (original terms); ABS Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026.

General information only: This article provides general information only and does not constitute financial, legal or professional advice. Readers should seek independent advice relevant to their circumstances.

Author: TGB Editorial