The state also recorded 13,972 commencements for the past quarter, up 378 on the previous quarter and totalling just over 55,000 for the 12 months to March 2026.
Property Council Victorian Executive Director Cath Evans said the figures tell a simple story – the homes Victorians need are not being delivered at the scale required.
“Industry confidence in Victoria has fallen to its lowest level in years, highlighting the growing impact of high taxes, policy uncertainty, and an increasingly challenging investment environment,” she said.
“These flatlining numbers reflect that sentiment. We cannot solve the housing crisis without addressing the investment conditions holding us back.
“Victoria is the most heavily taxed property market in the country, while rising costs and regulatory complexity continue to make new housing projects increasingly difficult to get off the ground.
“We urgently need to see restrictive and punitive taxes, like the Absentee Owner Surcharge, and Windfall Gains Tax, abolished immediately to help kickstart the industry and get projects moving.
“We know the demand for housing is there. What’s missing is the confidence to buy and invest.
“If we are serious about improving affordability, we need to make it easier, not harder, to build homes.”
Ms Evans said the Property Council’s election platform, Best to Invest: The Reform Victoria Needs Now, sets out the practical reforms needed to restore investment and boost housing supply.
“Housing supply and investor confidence go hand in hand. Unless we restore confidence, we’ll continue to see the housing pipeline underperform and affordability pressures worsen.”
