12 Jan ProBuilder – Moving Forward Into 2024

To say 2023 was tough as a builder is an understatement. After the profitless boom & covid, the general public may have felt things were getting easier in the building industry in 2023 but far from it. It seemed to be a continual drip feed of issues that impacted every aspect of the industry. Supply chain issues were not so bad, labour availability was limited and a whole wave of sub-trades, employees forgot what loyalty meant as they were poached by the highest bidder & so many stories involving dishonouring commitments made & leaving clients and employers in the lurch with little to no notice.

Some of the statistics that emerged of late:

ASIC insolvencies rose by 69% 7943 companies became insolvent in the last 12 months. The cost to build a new house rose 42% over 3 years. 3020 builders nationwide have gone bust in 2023. Core Logic – a new cost floor has been put under the home renovation market. If the labour shortages weren’t bad enough, so many went under from incessant price rises & timelines being blown out like never before. The domino effect was multiplying rapidly & the carnage followed. So many builders have had enough, some have not renewed their licences & others have put their business into hibernation & are working for others or in the lucrative infrastructure market which is at full steam in booming Brisbane.

In closing, ProBuilder survived the toughest year in my 35 years of continuous building in Brisbane.  Jim McIntyre