By Jonathan Chancellor
Publication Date: 2026-04-30 06:00:00
There are even fewer housing construction cranes in Sydney’s skyline, a sign of how difficult it is to achieve the goal of an abundant supply of new housing.
When cranes fall on construction sites, it means that the completion of residential complexes is near. So this is good news for potential owner-occupiers or investor tenants.
However, consultancy Rider Levett Bucknall’s (RLB) latest crane fleet count shows there are now six fewer cranes for residential construction projects in Sydney, at 204, compared to six months ago, down from 221 a year ago and 210 six months ago.
The number of 204 residential cranes is well below Sydney’s peak of 289 in 2017, a boom time for property.
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It’s not just Sydney’s residential sector that is seeing a drop in numbers as cranes not used for residential construction…

