Detached construction remains scarce as ‘missing middle’ reforms take hold
Dwelling commencements in the Australian Capital Territory jumped sharply in the March quarter of 2026, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows, though the increase was driven almost entirely by apartment building rather than detached houses.
The latest ABS Building Activity figures, released earlier this week, cover dwelling commencements, completions and construction activity nationwide.
According to the data, 1,488 new residential dwellings began construction in the ACT during the quarter, a rise of 71.8% on the previous three months.
“The strong pipeline of multi-unit dwelling approvals recorded during the second half of 2025 has begun to translate into construction activity,” said Geordan Murray (pictured right), ACT & Southern NSW executive director at the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
“There were 1,488 new residential dwellings that commenced construction in the ACT during the March quarter 2026. This was up by 71.8% on the previous quarter, driven almost entirely by a surge in apartment construction. While that's an encouraging uplift in commencements, it also highlights the imbalance in the ACT's housing supply.
“Only 209 detached houses commenced construction during the quarter, remaining well below the levels that have historically underpinned housing supply in the Territory.”
For over a decade, the ACT government's housing strategy had sought to diversify the types of homes being delivered, Murray said. In practice, however, the territory had largely replaced the supply of detached homes with a supply of apartments, rather than broadening the mix of housing options, he pointed out.
“There were just 214 semi-detached, row and townhouse dwellings commenced during the March quarter,” Murray added. “If the ACT is to replace the lost supply of detached housing while achieving greater housing diversity, commencements of these ‘missing middle’ housing types will need to increase substantially.
“We're optimistic that we'll begin to see that emerge during the second half of 2026 as projects approved under the new planning framework will begin entering the supply pipeline. The Missing Middle planning reforms have been years in the making and finally took effect on 1 July.
“Together with stamp duty exemptions announced in the recent Budget and the temporary halving of Lease Variation Charges, the missing middle reforms should improve the feasibility of these developments and encourage supply of more diverse housing options.”
Murray stressed that successfully delivering these missing middle homes would be critical to achieving the ACT government's target of 30,000 new homes by 2030, while providing Canberrans with a broader range of housing choices.
“The next challenge is ensuring those policy changes translate into homes on the ground,” he said.
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