Wesfarmers’ first move into residential construction centres on a new offsite manufacturing venture with contractor Built that targets high-rise apartment projects. The ASX-listed conglomerate is tipping an initial $100 million into a facility operated by joint-venture business Built Living, which will manufacture modular and precast components.
That plant is designed to turn out structural pieces for more than 2000 apartments each year, shifting much of the construction process from building sites into a controlled factory environment. The partnership aims to cut apartment construction timelines by around half and reduce total building costs by roughly 20%.
The strategy leans into a part of the economy where Australia’s structural problems are most exposed, residential building. Apartment developers currently juggle high construction costs, fragmented planning and building rules across states and reliance on global supply chains that are easily disrupted.
Those pressures drag on productivity and make larger projects harder to finance and deliver at scale. Offsite manufacturing offers more predictable workflows, centralised procurement and repeatable designs, which can help stabilise margins and timelines for high-rise projects.
Recent housing completion data shows why a manufacturing-style approach appeals to large owners. New home completions slipped almost 3% last year to 172,657, down from 177,818 the previous year.
The volume is well below the 214,086 homes completed in 2017, showing how far supply has fallen while demand keeps climbing. A facility capable of producing components for more than 2000 apartments annually may not transform the market overnight, yet it marks a shift towards industrialised housing delivery at scale.
That kind of capacity is a key piece in efforts to rebuild momentum in Australia’s apartment pipeline.
