Why buyers are choosing new builds over existing homes – John McGrath

The new housing market continues to attract home buyers, especially those buying for the first time. There’s good reasons for this, including government assistance programs. Buying brand new can also mean less stress and gives buyers the option of moving into “turn key” or ready-built properties, often in rapidly growing locations.

The latest NAB Residential Property Survey highlighted that in the June 2025 quarter, first-home buyers (FHB)s’ market share of new housing increased to 40%. Up from 34.2% in the March quarter, this is the highest new housing figure for FHBs since December 2022.

Unfortunately, high construction, infrastructure, labour, and land costs continue to delay new development. The Housing Industry Association (HIA) and Cotality’s Residential Land Report in February showed that residential land prices across the country have escalated by more than 500% since 2000. Construction costs and the cost of skilled labour grew by around 150%.

At the same time, these issues haven’t swayed new home buyers, with another HIA report finding that new home sales in the five largest states reached a three-year high in September 2025. Sales in the three months to October 2025 were also 8.1% higher than the previous quarter. And, while the volume of these sales dropped by 9% in October itself, they were still higher than any other four-week period in recent years.