No end to the ‘property cyclone’ as construction costs keep rising and more builders head into insolvency

Alyssa Luc and her partner Xuan Tri Mai are among many Australians who wish they hadn’t rushed into building a home.

It was the end of 2020 when the couple purchased a block of land in Catherine Field, a growth area suburb south-west of sydney.

Their block cost about $500,000, and they spent another $700,000 to enter a contract with what they thought was a reputable volume builder.

The couple moved into their new home in July 2023 and, just days in, Ms Luc says they started finding alleged defects, starting with a blockage in their toilet.

“If anyone would like to go build a new house, please think carefully,” Ms Luc warns.

“Think about the economy … think about the builders at the moment.

“I mean, they [people] can see that so many builders [have] collapsed in the past few years. They should know now that the industry is vulnerable.”

It was supposed to be the end of what building industry pundits have labelled as a “property cyclone”.

But even if the eye of that cyclone has passed, savage storms continue to wreak havoc on Australia’s $270 billion construction sector.

Each month across Australia, on average more than 200 building and construction companies go under.

The building industry is still reeling from one of its most…

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