Highlighting the problem was the fact that strong migration in 2021-22 which led to 40,000 people moving to the state while only 34,775 new homes were built.

While there was still a substantial backlog of new houses to be built in the state, Master Builders said the latest data showed Queensland was falling behind in construction work, housing starts and finance.

Adding to the crisis was spiralling inflation and rental vacancy rates at historic lows.

But dwelling approvals had dropped alarmingly in the latest data for November. It showed a 14 per cent fall which Master Builders said was an acceleration of the downward trend.

“Approvals for both detached houses and units are also heading down with drops of 8.3 per cent and 24.3 per cent, respectively.”

Construction costs were a major factor and were continuing to rise.

The cost of building a home in Queensland had risen 18 per cent in a year and 42 per cent over three years, MBA said.

Chief executive Paul Bidwell said interest rates, supply chain delays and a lack of contractors licensed to work in Queensland were the big issues.

Red tape was also a problem.

“Finding our way through the housing crisis is going to be extremely challenging. It will take a concerted effort from the Government to tackle blockages in housing supply, but in the end it’s a no-brainer: we must address the cost and complexity of building a new home,” Bidwell said.

“New regulation is adding more and more cost to building Queensland homes with an equal benefit justifying the cost imposed.

“If the Government is committed to fixing the housing crisis they must also commit to doing what they can to drive down the cost of new housing.”