September 27th, 2026A new decade, a new home tops the list of Australia’s largest home builders
“Sumitomo Forestry Australia has been revealed as Australia’s largest home building group in the 2025/26 HIA Housing 100,” stated HIA Chief Economist, Tim Reardon.
The HIA Housing 100, sponsored by COLORBOND® steel, ranks Australia’s largest 100 residential builders based on the number of homes commenced each year.
“Sumitomo Forestry Australia (Henley, Wisdom, Scott Park Group, Metricon) recorded 8,038 new home starts in 2025/26 across these four Australian home building businesses.
“The result follows Sumitomo Forestry’s acquisition of Metricon and brings together some of Australia’s largest and most established home building businesses within one group.
“Metricon had held the number one position on the Housing 100 for the previous decade, making this a new name at the top of the list as the Housing 100 enters a new decade.
“ABN Group was Australia’s second largest home builder with 3,764 starts, while NEX Building Group moved from fourth to third with 3,585 starts.
“The consolidation of Metricon and Henley, two of the top ten builders last year, within Sumitomo Forestry Australia also saw Summit Homes enter the top ten for the first time, continuing its rise from 15th in 2023/24.
“There were also some significant movers further down the Housing 100. Homecorp Constructions moved from 31st to 13th, while Hutchies moved from 14th to eighth.
“Parkview Constructions was Australia’s largest multi-unit builder, commencing 2,735 homes. Meriton Apartments was second with 2,324 starts, followed by Hutchies with 1,907.
“The largest apartment builders have moved down the overall rankings this year as detached housing led the increase in new home construction.
“In total, the Housing 100 commenced 70,553 homes in 2025/26, an increase of 9.4 per cent from 64,481 in the previous year and the first time since 2021/22 that the total has exceeded 70,000 homes.
“Detached home starts increased by 11 per cent to 52,058, semi-detached starts increased by 14 per cent to 7,397, while multi-unit starts increased by just 1 per cent to 11,098.
“The Housing 100 accounted for 35 per cent of all new homes commenced in Australia in 2025/26.
“These results show that Australia’s home builders responded to improving market conditions and increased the supply of new homes in 2025/26.
“The concern is that the conditions which produced this increase have changed significantly during 2026.
“New home sales strengthened through the second half of 2025 and into early 2026, providing builders with a pipeline of work that continued to translate into commencements throughout 2025/26.
“Since then, the reversal of the 2025 interest rate cuts, weaker consumer confidence and changes to property investment taxation settings have seen new home sales fall.
“There is always a lag between a new home sale and commencement of construction. This means the strong result recorded in this year’s Housing 100 reflects market conditions from earlier in the cycle, while the deterioration in sales during 2026 will increasingly weigh on commencements in 2027.
“Underlying demand for housing remains exceptionally strong. Australia continues to have a shortage of homes, population growth remains strong and unemployment remains low.
“The Housing 100 demonstrates that the industry has the capacity to increase the supply of new homes when market conditions allow.
“Australia cannot resolve the housing shortage unless governments lower the cost of delivering new homes and provide the stable investment and financing environment required to sustain this increase in supply,” concluded Mr Reardon.
Key findings from the 2025/26 HIA Housing 100 include:
- The Housing 100 commenced 70,553 homes, up 9.4 per cent from 64,481 in 2024/25.
- Detached starts increased 11 per cent to 52,058, semi-detached starts increased 14 per cent to 7,397, and multi-unit starts increased 1 per cent to 11,098.
- The Housing 100 accounted for 35 per cent of Australia’s new home market.
- Sumitomo Forestry Australia ranked first with 8,038 starts, followed by ABN Group with 3,764 and NEX Building Group with 3,585.
- Parkview Constructions was the largest multi-unit builder with 2,735 starts.
Homecorp Constructions recorded the largest move up the rankings, from 31st to 13th, while Hutchies moved from 14th to eighth
