jad n rich

Finished early today, large job south side of brisbane, another job on straddie also finishing, horrid day finishing up about 90 tradies, most now out of work.

Most saying not that much work around at present. Interest rates and slowdown in housing market really have started to bite. Boomtown perth brings up 4 jobs for bricklayers, 10 for carpenters, including agencies who advertise their name not specific jobs.

Those in the industry care to comment. Things slowing or not. Not general comments like loads of houses going up round here, more where you work your future job prospects, is increased competition in workforce bringing down your rates.

Setting up for units in Caboolture myself, start date for trade workers not confirmed, all still at paperwork stage, possible N brisbane project still in negotiations. 2 offers to move to tropics for summer, not interested.

cresta57

We're stacked up until Christmas, the everyone wants to be in by Christmas rush has started early this year . One builder we work for has another seven relocatable homes to build before then. Another has promised six home buyers they will be in by Christmas. We'll be looking for another tiler in a couple of weeks as our regular guy is heading North to Airlie Beach. The casual labour we use when we get busy is also starting to find he's wanted by a few of us so we may have to actually up his rate leading up to Christmas just to keep him.
Long term there's very little starting next January/February so I'm hoping for a long holiday. So far it's certainly been a steadier year than last year, I've had more time for fishing & diving so I'm not complaining. It'll be March/April before it picks up for us again hopefully with a big contract to tile 200 relocatable holiday homes. Two a week for two yrs all identical. I'm hoping to put a bloke on it full time with an apprentice.
If interest rates go up again as predicted the recent boom in and around Gympie will stall as most of the new properties here are investor funded. When/if we have to drop rates to keep working I know there's a fine line between our prices and those of our competitors. We're lucky to have a very small mortgage and own the car and Ute allowing us to still drop lower than the guys with the big house dripped up on finance. Past experiences of recessions in the U.K taught me that if you can keep ticking over while the other guys all either go to the wall or find alternate employment prices soon begin to creep back up, harsh but true.
I may have to put Deb back on the streets if she doesn't find suitable employment to keep me in beer and pies though

Bix

I tried that mate but tis also a slowing market.

Serious question.....what do you mean by relocatables ?

moneypenny20

Glad you asked - wondered the same thing. Are they Queenslanders people buy and move to their own block

cresta57

They are houses built at a fabrication yard and transported to site on a house moving trailer. They're brand new designs so not exactly traditional looking Queenslanders, the principle is the same though you buy a block and the house you choose is built delivered and stumped by the same company. It's just like buying an old Queen slander and having it moved to a location of your choice only there's no renovations. We've done quite a few that have been built here and gone up to places like Emerald, Innisfail & Tully.
Quite a few have gone up to Innisfail as it's a lot cheaper to build one here and ship it up to Innisfail than it is to get the local builders to build one as they're still working for insurance companies sorting out the cyclone damage.

Siren & Brian

Brickies in Perth are advertised in The West each day and usually a column or two and not the same ads over and over again.

Slowing, yes but I still feel here in Perth we are a few more months down the track before it is really noticeable.