HIA-Colorbond steel Housing 100 report reveals SA’s biggest home builders

Housing construction in SA is bouncing back from a two-year lull, with a familiar name topping an annual list of the state’s biggest home builders.

Housing construction in South Australia is bouncing back from a lull in activity over the past couple of years, with a familiar name topping an annual list of the state’s biggest home builders.

According to figures released in the HIA-Colorbond steel Housing 100 report, the state’s top 15 builders started work on 4876 new homes in the year to June, up from 4863 starts in 2022-23, and bringing to an end two years of consecutive declines.

Hickinbotham Group held its position as the state’s largest home builder, starting work on 1539 new homes, up from 1507 in the previous year. It slipped one position to 12th on the national list, but remained the ninth-biggest detached house builder nationally.

Hickinbotham Group managing director Michael Hickinbotham.

Hickinbotham’s nearest rival in the South Australian market, national builder Metricon, bounced back from its recent troubles, reporting a 17 per cent increase in building volumes to 465 new homes.

Adelaide-based builder Rivergum Group jumped one spot to third following an impressive 29 per cent jump in housing starts to 453, while Metro Homes SA and Longridge Group rounded out the top five.

The state’s top 15 builders increased their dominance of the market in 2023-24, accounting for 44 per cent of all new homes built in South Australia, up from 42 per cent in the previous year.

But most of the housing growth has been concentrated within the largest home builders, with just one of the 11 companies outside the top four reporting higher volumes in 2023-24.

Metricon remained SA’s second-biggest home builder in 2023-24. Picture: Richard Walker

Hickinbotham Group managing director Michael Hickinbotham said it was the 20th year that his company topped the rankings in South Australia, and the pipeline remained strong, with $2bn in new developments under way.

“Hickinbotham is unique in Australia as a major residential land developer and builder,” he said.

“We have unmatched ability to build high quality, affordable homes and housing estates at scale, during the worst period of housing affordability in South Australia.

“Our expertise is aligned with the state government’s economic growth targets, all of which are underpinned by the need for housing.”

Nationally, Metricon was ranked as the largest home builder for a ninth consecutive year, despite a 17 per cent decline in volumes to 3894 new homes.

According to the report, the country’s biggest 100 builders started work on 59,981 new homes in 2023-24, up 8.5 per cent from the previous year.

HIA chief economist Tim Reardon said overall market confidence was returning after the Reserve Bank kept interest rates on hold for the 10th consecutive month, and indicators pointed to an increase in volumes in the December half and into 2025.

“Low levels of unemployment and strong population growth have driven ongoing demand for new homes, despite the increase in the cost of borrowing and a decline in household consumption,” Mr Reardon said.