First published 29 Sep 2026, 12:36pm
Rather than stopping new homes from being built, a brick shortage in Western Australia may ultimately point to another way forward: building homes differently.
Double brick construction remains more popular in WA than in other Australian states. Image: Getty
WA's new home-building market is contending with higher costs, economic uncertainty and softer buyer sentiment. Now, a shortage of bricks has added another pressure point.
But the shortage may be less a roadblock than an accelerant for a broader change in the way WA builds homes. Industry figures say buyers should not be deterred, with builders turning to alternative construction methods to navigate the constraint – some of which can deliver homes up to 30% faster than traditional double brick.
The squeeze can be largely attributed to an imbalance in supply and dmand: WA currently builds more homes than its local brick supply can comfortably support.
Michael McGowan, executive director of the Housing Industry Association (HIA) WA, explained that the number of homes being delivered was growing by around 10% to 15%, while brick manufacturing capacity has not kept pace.
Midland Brick, the state’s sole remaining local brick manufacturer, has responded by introducing allocations to builders to help manage supply over the coming year. The news has raised concern among potential buyers that this is yet another roadblock to building a new house.
For Summit Homes group manager Cameron Lade, however, the shortage was not unexpected.
Over roughly four years, he said WA had gone from three brick manufacturers to one, while the number of operating kilns had fallen from around 11 to five.
“It’s not a complete shock,” Mr Lade said.
“When you have a rationalisation of supply chain like that, like we’ve had with bricks, I guess we sort of knew it was coming.”
Summit has spent the past three years reducing its reliance on double brick, operating its own steel-framing factory and increasing the proportion of homes built using framed and brick-veneer construction.
Three years ago, around one in two Summit homes was double brick. This year it is around one in three. Next year, the company expects that to fall to one in four.
“I think it’s going to just accelerate the adoption of different building methodologies over here, which is not a bad thing,” Mr Lade said.
WA has historically relied heavily on double-brick construction, where brick forms both the inner and outer walls. With brick veneer, the main structure is formed from steel or timber framing, with brick used as an external cladding.
Mr Lade said the shift would bring WA closer to construction methods already commonplace elsewhere in Australia, where framed homes are the norm rather than the exception. He says a growing number of interstate and overseas arrivals to WA were also bringing greater familiarity with those methods.
HIA says the immediate task for builders is working out where that switch can still be made.
“The first job is builders to assess: is there work within that pipeline that they can perhaps convert over to a framed or a brick veneer type product to lessen their reliance based on their allocation?” Mr McGowan said.
Changing the WA builds doesn't mean phasing out brick homes, but rather using the material for the exterior an employing steel or timber to frame the home. Image: Getty
Pivoting the method of construction becomes more complicated once a project is underway, with any change potentially requiring revised engineering and local government approval.
For Mr Lade, the opportunity lies in where the shift could lead.
He said Summit’s hybrid and framed construction methods can deliver homes in less time, at roughly the same cost as traditional double brick, while opening the door to a broader mix of materials and building techniques.
“It’s just going to mean that we’ll do more innovative building techniques and still deliver great homes,” Mr Lade said.
While some bricks may be sourced from interstate or overseas to supplement local supply, Mr Lade said that was unlikely to provide a long-term answer, given the cost and difficulty of transporting such a heavy product. Instead, he expects the shift towards alternative construction methods to continue.
“This is not a short-term fix,” he said, noting that establishing new brick manufacturing capacity could take at least five years to establish. “Builders will adapt and pivot to be able to still build homes.”
For buyers already cautious about building, Mr Lade said the brick shortage should not be interpreted as a reason to put plans on hold.
“They shouldn’t be deterred by what’s playing out in the media. We’re all going to find a way to still deliver the housing that’s required.”
And while buyer sentiment has softened, Mr Lade says the broader fundamentals supporting WA’s housing market have not changed.
“We’ve still got population growth. We’ve still got really good, strong job security,” he says. “Rental vacancy rates are still very low in WA.”
Importantly, builders are still taking on new work. Summit, for example, continues to sign new contracts, with Mr Lade saying the group expected to make another 150 sales this month.
Are you interested in learning more about buying or building a new home in Australia? Check out our dedicated New Homes section.
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