The suburbs bracing for a wave of new homes

These are the suburbs doing the heavy lifting for housing supply, with thousands of new homes in the pipeline.

Outer suburbs and inner city areas across Australia are set to receive a huge injection of housing supply, with billions of dollars worth of homes approved for construction.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed the suburbs where the most homes have been approved to be built this financial year, highlighting the housing hotspots preparing to welcome thousands of new residents.

The data shows that the majority of suburbs set to receive the most homes in coming years were found on the outskirts of the major capitals.

A handful of suburbs in Melbourne’s north and west have already had more than 1000 homes approved for construction this financial year.

These suburbs sit on the frontlines of Australia’s battle to build enough homes for the nation’s rapidly growing population, with an ample supply of land providing a blank slate for massive new housing developments.

Suburbs with the most homes approved in FY25-26

The data breaks down the number of homes approved from the start of the financial year to the end of April into SA2 regions, which are areas defined by the ABS that typically include a handful of suburbs.

Mickleham - Yuroke in Melbourne’s north topped the list, with almost 1200 houses and 200 units approved for construction since mid-2025.

The area has one of the fastest rates of population growth in Australia owing to the thousands of new homes that have been built there in the past few years, which looks set to continue as newly-approved homes are constructed and sold.

In Melbourne’s west, the Rockbank - Mount Cottrell region – which includes the rapidly expanding suburbs of Rockbank, Thornhill and Aintree – had almost 1400 new homes approved in the past year.

Rapidly developing Mickleham in Melbourne's north had the most homes approved so far this financial year, according to the ABS. Picture: realestate.com.au/sold

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Other western suburbs such as Fraser Rise and Werribee, northern suburbs such as Whittlesea and Wollert, and Clyde in the city’s outer east also had huge housing pipelines.

Queensland’s major new housing hotspots include the Ipswich suburb of Ripley, as well as the Chambers Flat - Logan Reserve region south of Brisbane – areas with large numbers of house and land packages in the works.

The Gold Coast suburbs of Mermaid Waters and Surfers Paradise are on track for a housing boost, as is South Brisbane, with hundreds of new apartments approved this financial year.

The northern Perth suburbs of Alkimos and Eglington had 1300 homes approved in total since June, with the region recently unlocked for more housing following the extension of the Yanchep train line.

While the approvals data shows outer Sydney suburbs such as Box Hill and Austral are on track to receive hundreds more homes, major apartment developments are also on the way for inner and middle-ring suburbs.

More than 1200 new apartments were approved for Five Dock - Abbotsford, while an additional 900 homes received the green light in Ermington - Rydalmere.

Surfers Paradise is set for even more apartments, with almost 1000 approved so far this financial year. Picture: Getty

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Despite more than 180,000 homes being approved for construction so far this financial year, Australia is still building fewer homes than required to house the growing population, said REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty.

“We’re still tracking well below the level that we need to keep the ratio of housing supply to the population steady,” she said.

“All signs point to a continued deterioration in housing supply relative to the population.”

The latest data from the ABS shows that Australia’s population grew by about 424,000 in the year to September 2025.

Ms Flaherty said housing development relative to population growth wasn’t evenly spread across Australia.

“Over the past 5 years, Victoria built an extra 53,000 homes than needed, and that's why home prices haven't really moved in Victoria,” she said.

“But both Queensland and Western Australia each had about a 60,000 shortfall.”

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Property tax changes unveiled in the federal budget in May could lead to increased competition for newer homes in growth areas, Ms Flaherty said.

Under the new rules, negative gearing will be limited to only newly built homes from July next year – a move the federal government hopes will encourage more housing construction.

“We will see a rise in investors in a lot of growth areas competing with first-home for those new house and land packages,” Ms Flaherty said.

“Typically the median cost of a newly developed house in an outer area is lower than a new inner city apartment.”

Townhouses in established middle-ring suburbs may also be in high demand, Ms Flaherty said, as these would appeal to both investors and owner-occupiers.