Kixstart Property Brief | Housing Supply & Development
Perth’s future housing supply is forming in two different ways. Outer growth corridors are approving detached houses month after month, while established areas can record sudden apartment spikes when one large project is approved.
What new housing could compete with your property over the next few years?
The latest small-area data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics gives us a useful starting point. Across the Perth and Peel council areas analysed, 22,189 new dwellings were approved in the 12 months to July 2026. That was 14.0% more than during the preceding 12 months.
The supply was not spread evenly. Wanneroo, Swan, Rockingham and Armadale accounted for 45.5% of the approvals. Four in five approved dwellings were detached houses.
Those numbers matter to buyers, sellers and developers. They also need to be interpreted carefully.
A building approval is permission to build. It does not prove construction has started, and it does not mean a finished home has entered the market.
What the 12-month data shows
This analysis uses original ABS monthly data for new residential buildings from August 2025 to July 2026. It compares that period with August 2024 to July 2025. The geographic analysis covers Perth metropolitan and Peel council areas and uses the ABS boundaries applying to the published data.
| Approved dwelling type | Latest 12 months | Previous 12 months | Change | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached houses | 17,808 | 15,307 | +16.3% | 80.3% |
| Townhouses, terraces and semi-detached dwellings | 1,533 | 1,902 | -19.4% | 6.9% |
| Apartments | 2,848 | 2,247 | +26.7% | 12.8% |
| Total new dwellings | 22,189 | 19,456 | +14.0% | 100% |
The broad pattern is clear. Perth’s approval pipeline remains dominated by detached houses. Apartment approvals increased, but they were concentrated in particular locations and months. Approvals for townhouses, terraces and semi-detached homes fell.
That creates a gap worth watching. Many established suburbs need smaller, accessible and lower-maintenance homes, yet the middle-density part of the approval pipeline has weakened.
The council areas approving the most housing
Wanneroo and Swan were the two most consistent approval leaders. Both ranked among the five highest council areas in every month of the latest 12-month period. Armadale and Rockingham ranked in the top five during nine of the 12 months.
| Council area | Total approvals | Detached houses | Other dwellings | Annual change | Recent direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wanneroo | 4,009 | 3,759 | 250 | +17.2% | Accelerating |
| Swan | 2,511 | 2,335 | 176 | +15.4% | Broadly steady |
| Rockingham | 1,841 | 1,773 | 68 | +9.8% | Slowing recently |
| Armadale | 1,742 | 1,694 | 48 | +35.8% | Accelerating |
| Stirling | 1,545 | 707 | 838 | +46.0% | Accelerating, project-driven |
| Mandurah | 1,423 | 1,362 | 61 | -3.7% | Slowing |
| Cockburn | 1,343 | 874 | 469 | +32.6% | Slowing after earlier spike |
| Serpentine-Jarrahdale | 814 | 812 | 2 | +105.0% | Accelerating strongly |
| Melville | 731 | 292 | 439 | +108.3% | Accelerating, project-driven |
| Belmont | 547 | 133 | 414 | +33.1% | Accelerating, project-driven |
| South Perth | 446 | 80 | 366 | +165.5% | Accelerating, project-driven |
| City of Perth | 68 | 0 | 68 | -67.9% | Highly concentrated |
The table shows why a simple monthly suburb ranking would be misleading. Wanneroo, Swan, Armadale and Rockingham represent persistent detached-house supply. Stirling, Melville, Belmont and South Perth can rise quickly when one apartment development is approved.
Mandurah remains a major source of detached housing, but its approval total fell slightly over the year and slowed during the latest six months. Rockingham also eased recently despite remaining one of the highest-volume locations.
Serpentine-Jarrahdale is the strongest emerging detached-house story. Approvals more than doubled, with nearly all of the new dwellings being houses.
The growth corridors carrying the detached-house pipeline
Grouping nearby council areas makes the direction easier to see.
| Growth corridor | New dwellings approved | Detached-house share | Annual change | Latest six-month direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North-west: Wanneroo and Joondalup | 4,454 | 92.8% | +13.1% | +30.7% |
| South-west: Cockburn, Kwinana and Rockingham | 4,269 | 85.1% | +18.4% | -12.9% |
| South-east: Armadale, Gosnells and Serpentine-Jarrahdale | 3,196 | 95.4% | +35.0% | +26.0% |
| North-east: Swan, Bassendean, Kalamunda and Mundaring | 3,003 | 93.2% | +14.6% | +8.5% |
| Peel: Mandurah and Murray | 2,042 | 95.0% | +3.5% | -7.0% |
The north-west and south-east corridors are showing the clearest recent acceleration. The south-west corridor remains large, but its approval pace fell during the second half of the period. Peel also softened.
At the smaller-area level, the largest approval totals were recorded around Alkimos–Eglinton, Brabham–Henley Brook, Mandurah North, Armadale–Wungong–Brookdale, Baldivis North, Yanchep, Piara Waters–Forrestdale, Casuarina–Wandi, Baldivis South, Two Rocks and Wanneroo–Sinagra.
Mundijong deserves attention. Its approvals rose from 100 in the previous period to 431 in the latest 12 months. That is a substantial increase from a lower base and fits the wider acceleration in Serpentine-Jarrahdale.
Why some established suburbs suddenly spike
The ABS small-area series counts approved dwellings but does not identify project names. Large monthly apartment totals can, however, be compared with known development approvals in the same place and period.
| Small area and month | Other dwellings approved | Likely project explanation | Current evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karrinyup–Gwelup–Carine, February 2026 | 253 | West Village Karrinyup, 253 apartments | Approval match; construction preparations reported |
| South Lake–Cockburn Central, October 2025 | 246 | The Boulevard Residences, 243 apartments | Project reports construction commenced |
| Murdoch–Kardinya, February 2026 | 218 | Murdoch Health and Knowledge Precinct, 213 affordable and social apartments | Construction underway |
| Claremont, November 2025 | 137 | The Terraces, 137 dwellings | Construction listed as in progress |
| Bicton–Palmyra, July 2026 | 131 | Palmyra West, 130 apartments | Construction reported commenced |
| East Perth, July 2026 | 56 | St Bart’s Kensington Street, 56 social apartments | Builder engaged; construction commencement scheduled |
| Belmont–Rivervale, February 2026 | 173 | 32 Riversdale Road, 143 apartments | Likely explains most, but not all, of the ABS total |
This is the second speed in Perth’s housing pipeline. Detached approvals can accumulate steadily across large estates. Apartment supply can arrive as a concentrated block of 100, 200 or more dwellings in one location.
The competitive effect will depend on the product. Social or affordable rental apartments are important additions to housing supply, but they do not compete with an owner-occupier apartment in the same way as a conventional private development.
Approval, construction and completion are different stages
Small-area commencement and completion data is not publicly available from the ABS at the same council-area level. The best current comparison is therefore the Western Australian building-activity series.
| WA activity, 12 months ending March 2026 | Detached houses | Other dwellings | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approved | 20,129 | 5,099 | 25,228 |
| Construction commenced | 19,486 | 4,750 | 24,236 |
| Completed | 17,724 | 2,239 | 19,963 |
| Approved but not commenced at March quarter end | 2,201 | 1,734 | 3,936 |
The table should not be read as a conversion rate. A dwelling approved late in the period may start or finish later. A completion recorded during the period may relate to an approval from an earlier year.
It does show why approvals overstate the housing that buyers can actually occupy today. At the end of the March quarter, 3,936 approved WA dwellings had not commenced. Apartment and grouped-housing completions were also well below approvals during the 12-month period.
The small-area totals are gross approvals, not net additions to housing stock. Across the Perth and Peel council areas analysed, 1,451 demolition approvals were recorded during 2025–26. Some new homes will replace existing dwellings.
The City of Perth also shows a limitation of the new-building series. It recorded only 68 new-dwelling approvals in the latest 12 months, yet the Queens Riverside conversion in East Perth is expected to create 211 long-term affordable and social homes from an existing serviced-apartment complex. Conversions can add housing without appearing as new residential buildings in this data.
What could this mean around your suburb?
For buyers
Large outer growth corridors should continue to offer substantial new-house choice if approved projects proceed. Compare established homes with complete new-build packages, including land, site costs, upgrades, landscaping, fencing, finance during construction and expected completion time.
An established home may cost more upfront but offer a finished garden, mature services and immediate occupation. A new home may offer warranties and lower early maintenance. The right comparison is total cost and timing, not the advertised base price.
For sellers
Owners in high-volume detached-house corridors may face continuing competition from project builders, incentives and freshly completed homes. A near-new established property needs a clear advantage, such as a better lot, completed landscaping, solar, upgraded finishes, larger rooms, side access or immediate availability.
Supply pressure is local. A seller in Alkimos, Brabham, Baldivis or a fast-growing Armadale corridor faces a different competitive set from an owner in an established street with little comparable new construction.
For downsizers
Project approvals in Karrinyup, Claremont, Palmyra, Murdoch, Cockburn and other established areas may expand the range of apartments available over time. But the pipeline remains uneven, and the sharp fall in townhouse and terrace approvals suggests the supply of single-level, low-maintenance alternatives may remain limited.
Downsizers should distinguish between a project being marketed, approved, commenced and close to completion. Settlement timing, strata costs, defects, accessibility, storage and resale competition need separate checks.
For small developers
The clearest risk is producing a generic detached home where large builders are already adding substantial similar supply. Competing on the same product against estate-scale delivery can compress margins and extend selling time.
The stronger opportunity may be filling product gaps in established suburbs: well-designed three-bedroom homes, single-level layouts, accessible housing, practical downsizer products and small grouped developments with low ongoing strata costs.
That opportunity still needs a property-specific feasibility. Approval activity is one input. Land price, zoning, servicing, demolition, build cost, finance, finished values and current competing listings can change the result.
The practical test for your property
Do not ask only whether Perth is building more housing. Ask:
- How many comparable dwellings have been approved near the property?
- Are they detached houses, townhouses or apartments?
- Is the approval activity persistent or caused by one project?
- Has construction actually commenced?
- When could completed homes reach the market?
- Will those homes compete for the same buyer, tenant or price bracket?
- Are demolitions reducing the net addition to supply?
That is the difference between a broad market statistic and a useful property decision.
What housing could be coming near your property?
If you own or are assessing a Perth property, Kixstart Property can help screen the nearby approval pipeline, competing housing, planning position and potential development pathways.
Send us the property address and a short explanation of what you are considering. We can identify which questions deserve further investigation before you buy, sell, renovate or develop.
Principal sources
- ABS: Building Approvals, Australia, July 2026
- ABS: Building Approvals methodology
- ABS: Building Activity, Australia, March 2026
- Blackburne: West Village Karrinyup approval
- SKS Group: The Boulevard Residences
- WA Government: Murdoch affordable and social rentals
- Town of Claremont: The Terraces
- St Bart’s: Kensington Street project
- WA Government: Queens Riverside affordable and social housing project
This article provides general information only. It is not real estate, valuation, planning, building, legal, taxation, financial or investment advice. Building approvals can be revised and do not guarantee that construction will commence or be completed. Council boundaries, project details and market conditions can change. Obtain advice appropriate to the property and your circumstances before acting.