AI revolution is destroying Australians’ home dreams

AI revolution is destroying Australians’ home dreams

By Jonathan Chancellor
Publication Date: 2026-04-29 19:00:00

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 the residential sector in Sydney that has seen a decline in numbers, with the number of cranes in the non-residential sector falling from 160 to 142 in the last six months. That means fewer jobs for workers in high-visibility vests, but hopefully jobs in the finished…