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While Australia's housing approvals have stalled at just 1% growth, Western Australia is surging ahead with 8% annual growth. The Perth suburb of Brabham/Henley Brook is driving this boom, approving homes at 10 times the state average, 430 new dwellings in just five months. Meanwhile, the eastern states are going backwards, with Victoria down 4% and NSW down 1%.
New analysis reveals Western Australia is defying Australia’s housing approval slump, recording 8% annual growth while the rest of the country stalls.
And there’s one Perth growth corridor doing the heavy lifting.
Brabham/Henley Brook (North East Perth) is approving new houses at 10 times the WA average rate, with 430 homes approved in the first five months of FY25 alone. That’s the equivalent of 2.7% of the suburb’s population (15,852 people) approved for new housing in under six months — compared to WA’s approval-to-population ratio of just 0.28% over the same period.
The boom is powering a wider surge across the Swan region, which has recorded a 38% year-on-year jump in new home building activity — totalling $449 million worth of approvals, the largest of any major region.
Meanwhile, national housing approvals stalled at just 1% growth annually, with the two biggest states losing momentum — Victoria down 4% and New South Wales down 1%.
Additionally, Western Australia remains Australia’s house-building capital, with houses making up 4 in 5 new dwellings approved — almost double NSW (46.5%).
- Western Australia: +8%
- National: +1%
- Victoria: -4%
- New South Wales: -1%
- Queensland: +4%
- South Australia: +3%
WA suburb spotlight:
Brabham/Henley Brook: 430 approvals, up 164 (62%)
Yanchep: 291 approvals, up 161 (up 124%)
Mandurah North: 372 approvals, up 137 (58%)
Alkimos / Eglinton: 489 approvals (the highest) down 181 (-27%)
Western Australia and particularly Perth's outer growth corridors has become the engine room of Australia's housing supply at a time when the nation desperately needs more homes. While the eastern states struggle with planning bottlenecks and slowing construction, WA's focus on detached housing in affordable outer suburbs is delivering results. For Australians, this signals a potential shift in where housing supply will come from in the years ahead, and reinforces Perth's position as a more affordable alternative to Sydney and Melbourne. However, the national picture remains concerning: with approvals barely growing and Victoria and NSW in decline, Australia's housing crisis is unlikely to ease without a significant turnaround in the largest states.
