{"id":28967,"date":"2025-09-26T16:06:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T06:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=28967"},"modified":"2025-10-02T12:30:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T02:30:13","slug":"japanese-firms-now-own-30-of-australias-top-20-house-builders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/japanese-firms-now-own-30-of-australias-top-20-house-builders\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Firms Now Own 30% of Australia\u2019s Top 20 House Builders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Japan is rapidly gaining share as a powerhouse in Australia\u2019s housing industry, with just under 30 per cent of all homes built by the country\u2019s 20 top builders now wholly or partly owned by Japanese conglomerates. That is according to HIA’s 2024\/25 Housing 100 report, published yesterday, which reveals that Sumitomo Forestry\u2014the same company that sent a wooden satellite into space last year\u2014 is responsible for 7,311 (or 18%) of those starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Click here to view the report<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

According to the HIA data, the 100 builders accounted for 36 per cent of all new dwellings nationwide (a figure that was down from 38 per cent last year), with detached homes rising 4.5 per cent to 46,944 starts, semi-detached dwellings climbing 24 per cent to 6,443, and multi-unit projects jumping 40 per cent to 11,020. \u201cThe achievements of the Housing 100 are cause for optimism,\u201d says Tim Reardon, chief economist at the Housing Industry Association. \u201cThis year saw more homes built, more builders expanding their activity, and growth across detached, semi-detached and multi-unit segments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Housing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Metricon topped the list for the tenth consecutive year with 4,015 starts, with the Victorian-based builder\u2014now subject to a full takeover by Sumitomo Forestry\u2014 priding itself \u201con building all its homes with concrete slabs and timber frames.\u201d Meanwhile, South Australia’s Henley Properties ranked eighth with 1,984 starts, and Redink Homes, also fully controlled by Sumitomo, came in 15th with 1,312. Other Japanese power players include Asahi Kasei Homes\u2019 NEX Building Group<\/a>, which ranks 4th with 2,898 starts, and also controls a major stake in the Simmonds Group, which ranks 12th with 1,526 starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last year<\/a>, Wood Central revealed that Japan’s largest builders are now looking abroad for opportunities, where housing starts now sit at a 30-year low. (Photo Credit: Twitter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By state, Victoria led with 20,192 starts (31 per cent), followed by New South Wales on 14,295 (22 per cent) and Queensland on 13,951 (22 per cent). Western Australian builders delivered 9,903 starts\u201446 per cent of that state\u2019s total, the highest market share nationally\u2014while South Australia recorded 5,349 starts (40 per cent). \u201cWith interest rates easing, population growth strong and construction costs stabilising, the outlook for home building is positive,\u201d Reardon said, before adding that \u201cdetached starts are forecast to lift steadily to a 2027 peak, while multi-unit commencements are set for an even stronger recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n