Demand for flooring follows housing. New homes need floors, renovations replace them, and homes that are sold or re-let often get new ones. So asking whether the flooring industry is growing really means asking whether those things are.
This guide brings together the latest public figures on each, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and government housing plans, for Australia and for Victoria.
The short version. Most signals point up, but not evenly. Australia approved 205,593 new homes in 2025–26, 9.4% more than the year before, and renovation work was 12.6% higher than a year earlier. The population grew 1.4%, and Victoria added more people than any other state. But building is running well behind the national target of 1.2 million homes in five years, and approvals swing from month to month, so where you trade matters as much as the national trend.
What drives the flooring market in Australia?
Four things drive most of the demand for floors in homes:
- New homes. Every house, townhouse and apartment needs floors before anyone moves in.
- Renovations. Existing homes get new floors when rooms are updated, or when old carpet and boards wear out.
- Homes changing hands. Sellers freshen up before they list, buyers make a place their own, and landlords replace worn floors between tenants.
- Population growth. More people need more homes, which feeds the other three.
What are the latest flooring industry trends?
Here are the key figures behind those four drivers. For what customers are actually buying, see what Victorians are choosing for their floors.
| Indicator | Latest figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| New homes approved, Australia | 205,593 in 2025–26, up 9.4% | ABS Building Approvals |
| New homes approved, Victoria | 55,800 in 2025–26, down 1.5% | ABS Building Approvals |
| New homes approved, regional Victoria | 13,012 in 2025–26, up 29.3% | ABS Building Approvals |
| New homes completed, Australia | 180,500 in 2025–26, up 2.8% | ABS Building Activity |
| Homes under construction, Australia | 248,733 in June 2026, up 10.8% | ABS Building Activity |
| Renovation work done, Australia | Up 12.6% in the year to the June quarter 2026, in real terms | ABS Building Activity |
| Population, Australia | 27.9 million in March 2026, up 1.4% | ABS population estimates |
| Population, Victoria | 7.15 million in March 2026, up 1.6% | ABS population estimates |
| Homes sold, Victoria | About 172,000 in 2025, up 17% | ABS dwelling transfers |
| National Housing Accord target | 1.2 million new homes, July 2024 to June 2029 | Treasury |
| Victoria's Housing Statement target | 800,000 new homes, 2024 to 2034 | Victorian Government |
Changes compare with the year before. Regional Victoria means everywhere outside Greater Melbourne. Yearly totals, and changes the ABS doesn't publish itself, are our calculations from its monthly and quarterly figures. Sales counts are revised as more sales are recorded.
Is home building growing in Australia?
Yes, after a slump in 2023 and early 2024, approvals climbed for most of the next two years. Australia approved 205,593 new homes in 2025–26, up 9.4% on 2024–25 and 25% on 2023–24.
Month to month, though, the numbers jump around. Seasonally adjusted approvals went from 13,783 in January 2026 to 19,893 in February. In August they fell 6.1% to 16,953, though that was still 10.3% higher than a year earlier, and the trend dipped for the first time since January 2025. One month on its own says little.
Victoria is mixed. It approved 55,800 new homes in 2025–26, 1.5% fewer than the year before: Greater Melbourne fell 8.2%, while the rest of Victoria rose 29.3% to 13,012. Our guide to where regional Victoria is growing breaks that down for 11 areas.
Approvals aren't finished homes
An approval is permission to build. The home is finished months or years later, and some approved homes are never built. Completions are a better guide to floors actually being laid, and they've grown more slowly: Australia finished 180,500 new homes in 2025–26, up 2.8%, while Victoria held steady at 56,243.
The pipeline is big, though. There were 248,733 homes under construction in the June quarter 2026, up from about 244,000 in March. Each will need floors as it nears completion.
Are Australians renovating more?
Yes. In the June quarter 2026, the ABS's measure of renovation work done on homes (alterations and additions) was 12.6% higher than a year earlier, in volume terms that strip out price rises. In Victoria, it was 8.6% higher.
Approvals suggest Victoria is softer, though: the value of renovation work approved there rose about 2% in 2025–26, against about 9% nationally. Values aren't volumes, so part of any rise is simply higher building costs.
Existing homes matter too. Australia had 11,531,100 homes in June 2026, about 64 for every new home finished in 2025–26, and every one will need new floors at some point.
How fast is Australia's population growing?
Australia had 27,921,150 people at 31 March 2026, 392,700 more than a year earlier: growth of 1.4%, with 292,100 people from net overseas migration and 100,600 from natural increase.
That's slower than the peak of about 2.5% in the year to September 2023, so population growth is adding less to housing demand than it was. Victoria grew 1.6% to 7,154,200 people, and its increase of 109,500 was the largest of any state.
How many homes are sold and rented each year?
The ABS counts sales of established houses and of attached homes such as units, townhouses and apartments. In 2025, about 592,000 changed hands across Australia. In Victoria, about 172,000 did, 17% more than in 2024, including about 36,900 outside Greater Melbourne.
Rentals matter too. At the 2021 Census, 28.5% of Victorian households rented their home, about 681,000 households, and 30.6% did nationally.
Will Australia hit its housing targets?
Under the National Housing Accord, governments agreed to build 1.2 million new well-located homes over five years from 1 July 2024. That's about 240,000 a year, well above the 180,500 finished in 2025–26.
The independent National Housing Supply and Affordability Council reported in August 2026 that about 308,000 homes had been completed since the Accord began, around a quarter of the target. It expects the target to be reached in the December quarter of 2030, about 18 months late, and expects recent interest rate rises and softer sentiment to delay some building.
Victoria's Housing Statement aims for 800,000 new homes over the decade from 2024 to 2034, and 2.24 million by 2051, including 425,600 in regional Victoria. Plan for Victoria splits that into a target for every council area, such as 128,600 homes for Greater Geelong and 46,900 for Ballarat. Victoria's Auditor-General's Office has noted that the state isn't currently meeting its annual target of 80,000 net new homes.
Targets aren't forecasts, but they show where governments are planning for growth.
What does this mean when choosing a territory?
National figures hide big local differences: in 2025–26, approvals fell in Greater Melbourne and rose by almost 30% in the rest of Victoria. When you weigh up an area for a flooring showroom, look at:
- Population growth in the area and the towns within a short drive
- New homes approved over the last year or two, and whether the trend is holding
- Growth areas: the estates being built now, and the council's housing target to 2051
- The homes already there, and how often they sell
- The wider region the town serves
A growing market helps, but it won't run a showroom for you. Your site, your team and how well you follow up every enquiry matter just as much.
Each National Floors territory covers roughly a 60-minute drive. Our guide to where regional Victoria is growing compares population, approvals and housing targets for 11 areas, and our territory pages cover each one's catchment and growth areas. At the numbers-and-territory step of our process, we share the data for your area. To see how demand moves through the year, read when Victorians buy new floors. When you're ready, check whether your area is open.
Questions
Is the flooring industry growing in Australia?
By the measures that drive demand, mostly yes: new home approvals rose 9.4% in 2025–26, renovation work was up 12.6% on a year earlier and the population grew 1.4%. But building is behind the national target and approvals are volatile, so growth varies from place to place.
What drives demand for flooring?
New homes, renovations, and homes being sold or re-let, with population growth feeding all three.
Do building approvals show how many homes will be built?
Not exactly. An approval is permission to build, and homes are finished months or years later, if at all. The ABS's completions figures show what has actually been finished.
Is Victoria a growing market for flooring?
Victoria added 109,500 people in the year to March 2026, more than any other state, and about 172,000 homes were sold there in 2025. Statewide approvals slipped 1.5% in 2025–26, but rose 29.3% outside Greater Melbourne.
Sources
- ABS: Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026
- ABS: Building Activity, Australia, June 2026
- ABS: National, state and territory population, March 2026
- ABS: Total Value of Dwellings, June Quarter 2026
- ABS: 2021 Census QuickStats, Victoria
- Treasury: Delivering the National Housing Accord
- National Housing Supply and Affordability Council: Quarterly Report, August 2026
- Victorian Government: Victoria's Housing Statement and the 800,000 homes target
- Victorian Government: Plan for Victoria housing targets
- Victorian Auditor-General's Office: Reforming the planning system
- National Floors franchise opportunity