Building in 2025 | Why is it taking longer than 30 years ago?

Why Are Homes Taking So Long to Build? Here's How We Can Speed Things Up

The digital era we live in has slashed the time it takes to do virtually anything. 

So, why is it taking so long to create arguably our most important resource… homes?

The numbers don’t lie – building a home in Australia takes far longer today than it did 15 years ago. 

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average standalone house now takes 12.7 months to complete, up from nine months in the late 2000s.

Then there are apartments. It now takes an average of 33.3 months to build an apartment, up from 18.5 months in the same period. This represents an eye-watering 80 per cent time increase.

What’s driving these delays? Well, skilled labour shortages, declining productivity levels, disruptions to global supply chains and complex regulatory requirements are all part of the story. 

While these challenges might feel overwhelming, there are significant advantages busy builders can create for themselves through turning to digital.

Productivity driving AI-powered tools that streamline administrative, compliance, quality assurance and general project management is an easy lever construction professionals can pull to help tackle planning and delivery issues head-on.

Understanding Construction Productivity Challenges

Construction productivity in Australia has fallen by 18 per cent over the past decade, says Master Builders Association of Australia CEO Denita Wawn (read here for more). 

With so many innovations in building materials, construction techniques and methods to streamline through technology, shouldn’t this productivity metric be going the other way?

Unfortunately, the result of our nationwide labour shortages and increased material costs, coupled with time-consuming approval and compliance obligations, has created this productivity slump.

Meanwhile, backlogs in planning approvals, the urgent need to build more homes to keep pace with population growth, as well as critical infrastructure delays are only compounding the issue.

This has affected profitability for the construction sector at large, leading to many builders battling to stay on top of their projects, financial forecasts and client expectations. 

To get things back on track, collaboration is needed from both government and industry to optimise policies that will improve productivity, while educating the sector on how to implement smarter, more streamlined ways of working is also an important piece of the puzzle. 

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Helping Builders Do More With Less

Technology will play a leading role in supporting Australian construction through the challenges stymieing productivity.

At BuildPass, we are developing AI-powered solutions that address the root causes of inefficiency. From centralised project management, to real-time updates and automated compliance checks, our platform eliminates many of the time-consuming bottlenecks that impact construction sites.

Our great friends at SAW Constructions are an excellent proof point of the direct time-saving benefits using digital tools like ours can create for construction companies and staff. 

With several projects on the go at any one time, the team have done away with clunky spreadsheets and traditionally paper-based administrative, compliance and project management tasks, streamlining their operations by utilising the full suite of powerful software we offer.

Check out this case study we did recently with SAW Constructions to hear about the positive real-world impacts technology like ours is having on their business.

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Building a Faster, Smarter Future

The delays the industry faces today do not just represent challenges, they also create opportunities for innovation. 

By embracing digital solutions that do not require extensive training to roll-out, building companies can almost immediately tackle some of the inefficiencies facing their business, improve collaboration and ultimately deliver homes faster – without compromising on quality.

We are so proud to be supporting the industry with tools that make construction projects run smoother and safer. And with our recent $7.5m seed capital raise, this will help us ship some BIG new releases that can help our users take their operations to the next level.

If you are ready to find out how our platform can help your business build smarter, book a demo today. Let’s work together to create a faster, more productive future for Australian construction.