Metricon named top residential builder for fourth year in a row

Metricon Homes has been named Australia’s top residential builder by the Housing Institute of Australia.

Metricon director Peter Langfelder

Private construction company Metricon Homes has been named Australia’s top residential builder by the Housing Institute of Australia, after a tough year for the ­industry.

It is the fourth consecutive year Metricon has taken out the title, recording 4473 new home starts through the 2018-19 financial year across Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Queensland. The company increased its market share throughout the period, despite recording a lower year-on-year result due to the market downturn.

Sydney unit king Harry Triguboff’s Meriton Apartments powered up the list to second place, from ninth the year prior, with 3288 new starts.

Western Australia-based ABN Group moved up one place to third with 2987 new starts, down on last year’s numbers.

Dyldam Developments, Simonds Group and MJH Group also made the list.

It was a tough year for construction companies, with the number of new home starts by Australia’s largest 100 builders down to 64,694 last financial year, compared 74,565 the year prior. The result was in line with a 15 per cent decline in the broader market.

The market share of Australia’s 100 largest builders increased 2 per cent year on year to 35 per cent, despite revenue from home construction contracting 16.1 per cent to $21.29bn in the 2018-19 ­financial year.

Detached buildings were the most popular property type, representing 71 per cent of new builds, followed by units (23 per cent) and semi-detached dwellings (7 per cent).

Apartment builders had a bumper year, benefiting from a strong pipeline of work in Sydney and Melbourne. However, Housing Institute of Australia chief economist Tim Reardon said this was unlikely to continue over the coming 12 to 24 months.

“One of the consistent themes in the data is apartment builders moving up the list, reflecting the amount of apartments coming on throughout the year,” Mr Reardon said.

“In recent months we have seen a decline in approvals for apartment buildings. Until the current suite of apartments is ­finished, we won’t see the next phase of stock coming through the pipeline.”

Metricon director Peter Langfelder said the business maintained its foothold with a strong business model and commitment to customers.

“Although 2018-19 was a tough year, it’s Metricon’s belief that there is still strong demand for quality home builds Australia-wide and we’re confident that our business model, coupled with our commitment to innovation and customer service, will enable our continued leadership,” Mr Langfelder said.

“We’re committed to building homes to suit evolving customer needs and budgets and believe the diversity of our designs and pricepoints means we’ve been able to maintain relevance for customers in a market that has experienced significant downturn.”