HIA’s Housing Scorecard benchmarks contemporary levels of activity in each state and territory against long term averages across indicators of home building and renovations activity, lending data and population flows.

Since 2019, WA has steadily climbed the ladder, and in the past year, overtook South Australia and Queensland to secure the crown. This achievement reflects strong population growth, which has driven the country’s most robust market for detached home building and one of the strongest for renovations, particularly large-scale projects. Even the multi-unit sector has surged from recent lows to become one of the nation’s most active markets, with both investors and non-first home buyers playing a key role.

“Today’s HIA Housing Scorecard recognises the incredible effort of the industry over the past four years to deliver homes for Western Australian families,” said HIA WA Executive Director Michael McGowan.

“It shows that we’re back on our feet, supplying twice the number of homes compared to pre-pandemic levels.”

Highlighting the industry’s progress McGowan said, “We’ve doubled housing volumes since 2020, increased our trade workforce by 25% since 2022, and embraced innovative building methodologies that will shape the next five years of growth.”

The surge in investor activity and migration underscores WA’s reputation as a state of long-term opportunity, while strong renovation activity signals that residents are committed to staying and investing in their homes.

McGowan also acknowledged the collaborative role of government, “This achievement reflects the State Government’s partnership with industry—through planning reform, apprentice incentives, skilled migration support, delaying NCC 2022 adoption, and introducing new building methods in social housing programs.”

While WA celebrates this success, the industry remains focused on future challenges.
 
"This doesn’t mean the hard work stops. We need to keep improving, innovating, and delivering more homes for WA families,” Said Mr McGowan.

“We need to continue to attract skilled workers to the industry and there is no better time to start looking at an apprenticeship. Thousands of school leavers will see today’s announcement, and we encourage them to take up a trade with such a positive outlook.  

“We also need the Federal Government to prioritise visa applications for skilled workers in WA that are currently caught up in the volume of overall visa applications. We need these skilled migrants, and we need them here now.”

“Infrastructure planning and investment priorities need to continue to be the highest level of priority for the Government. Infill and Greenfields activity will be strangled if we don’t have the best delivery system in the country, this includes approvals, power, water and sewer,” concluded Mr McGowan.

The HIA Housing Scorecard benchmarks activity against long-term averages across:

• Detached house building
• Multi-unit dwelling construction
• Renovation activity
• Lending indicators
• Migration flows

WA’s top ranking is a testament to resilience, collaboration, and innovation—and a clear signal that the state is building for a strong future.

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