A "woeful" housing market has prompted calls for authorities to deliver a plan that steers Queensland toward recovery as the state budget looms.
Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data paints a bleak picture, indicating home building approvals, starts and completion times are falling behind in the Sunshine state
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland on Wednesday called for authorities to deliver an accountable housing delivery plan before next week's budget.
"It appears Queensland is falling deeper into the housing crisis, and without some major systemic changes it's hard to see how we'll claw our way out," the real estate body's CEO Antonia Mercorella said in a statement.
But Deputy Premier Cameron Dick said the government was already pulling every lever with housing constraints felt across the country.
"We have the most comprehensive housing plan in Queensland's history to deliver more affordable and accessible housing programs," he said on Wednesday.
"We've invested $6 billion ... and that's a comprehensive plan informed by research and evidence about the best investments we can make to ensure we deliver more housing."
Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon said their plan urged the industry to start thinking innovatively, with the private sector building 95 per cent of Queensland homes.
"We are setting the standard with modular homes, free apprenticeships, new fast-track approvals and incentives for infill development," she said.
"It also responds to concerns from the one third of Queenslanders who rent to stamp out dodgy practices and make renting fairer."
But the real estate body said overall building approvals, commencements and completions were below 35,000 new dwellings each year - much less than what was required to catch up to demand.
The real estate body said latest data showed a 13.5 per cent decline in private dwelling apartment approvals in Queensland in the 12 months to April 2024.
Dwelling commencements also dropped 7.4 per cent, as did completions by 1.4 per cent.
A decrease in construction productivity, combined with tradies being absorbed into large-scale infrastructure projects had impacted the sector, Ms Mercorella said.
"It is now taking more than 50 per cent longer to complete a house in Queensland than it did 10 years ago - this points to declining productivity in the sector," she said.
"We're not saying that the principles of the Homes for Queenslanders plan aren't sound, but we are wondering how they can deliver their targets in the current market conditions.
"Queensland has the longest completion times for apartments in the country at 26 months. Ten years ago, this was only 14 months."
Brisbane moved up to the second-most expensive city in Australia to buy a house, according to data released by CoreLogic on Monday.
Queensland's capital median house value is $937,479 and units $615,429.
The overall value of Brisbane dwellings has increased more than five times faster than Melbourne since the pandemic began at 59.8 per cent, compared to 11.2 per cent respectively.
