Howdy Readers 👋
In this newsletter, you'll find:
📰 Our latest blog post: Don’t Let Erosion Wash Away Your Construction Plans!
Ready to Build on Your Land? Don’t Miss This Essential Checklist!
Starting your new home build? Don't forget Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC). It's more than a legal tick-box: it protects your site, the environment and your budget. Poor planning leads to muddy disasters, council fines and even long-term property damage.
Our guide to the C3 ESC Checklist walks you through the critical areas to plan for and manage during construction, from sediment fences to drainage controls, plus common pitfalls and how to work with your builder on it.
👉️ Get the C3 Erosion and Sediment Control Checklist.
On with the news from this week 😄
🚀 The latest residential construction news from around Australia for the week ending 21-11-2024
If you're new to Constructor, a warm welcome to you! 👋 You've come to the right place to learn all about residential construction and quality management.
Let's get started, shall we?
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👍️ Featured Website
This is not a sponsored post - just a website we think you will get value from!
This week's featured site is in the reference section of our latest blog post on erosion and sediment control. *Catchments & Creeks by Grant Witheridge* is a treasure trove of information on managing waterways, stormwater, and erosion and sediment control.
It's packed with guides, fact sheets, drawings and posters covering different construction site scenarios. Grant has put it together selflessly for people like us, and it can save you thousands in fines, lost time and productivity.
If you find his work useful, consider making a donation via the PayPal link to help keep it available.
Check it out—you won’t be disappointed!
https://catchmentsandcreeks.com.au/
🔥 News
What else is happening in the construction sector?
All the links below have been cleaned of tracking codes. We use a browser extension called ClearURLs. It's great for stripping tracking codes from links.
Kevin R.
Firefox extension and Chrome Extension - search chrome store for ClearURLs
We've highlighted our favourite news articles for the week by marking with a 👉️ and this formatting.
The theme for this week's news seems to be "removing red tape and increasing throughput", judging by how many headlines say it.
15th November 2024
Housing Industry welcomes priority on residential construction apprenticeships (WA) - LINK
Borrowers unaware of construction green loans - LINK
Article excerpt: "Green home loan products offer discounts on interest rates if a home meets certain energy efficiency criteria, typically 7-stars as measured by the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)."
Construction commences at TOGA’s Macquarie, designed by Turner - LINK
NSW housing approvals lag behind rest of country, with high building costs and loan hesitancy stalling development - LINK
‘Under the radar’ no longer: NSW hard launches housing taskforce to cut red tape - LINK
Build times blow out as new home buyers cautiously return - LINK
Residential Building Redesigned – Crosby Road, Albion - LINK
Only 5,310 Apartments Under Construction in Western Sydney, Raising Alarms on Housing Shortfall - RWC - LINK
👉️ WA building boost: $10K incentive for east-coast tradies in housing push - LINK
Our comment: this is a bandage to stop the bleeding, not a solution.
Shadow House by Grotto Studio - LINK
$900m productivity boost a win for housing and business investment - LINK
This is what the future of housing in Sydney and NSW will look like - LINK
The future face of Sydney revealed with pattern book designs released - LINK
16th November 2024
Developers aren’t building apartments – and it’s getting worse - LINK
👉️ There’s no end to Australia’s housing shortage - LINK
The two surprising states where nearly half of buyers are favouring new homes - LINK
Important information for Landlords & Tenants regarding Make-Good - LINK
👉️ Modern Buildings Crucial for Future Housing Needs - LINK
Our comment: There is an interesting metric mentioned in this article that I haven't seen mentioned in Australian residential housing, housing stock measured in m2 per capita. This is a great metric because it shows you the aggregated size of house area for a person. It almost reminds me of Rockefeller Habits - single measurable brand metric.
It would be clear with this metric used in AU housing news that land size is being squeezed by developers (small lot code anyone) reducing habitable space.
Why affordable housing will be the big election issue across Qld - LINK
Our comment: Shelter sits in the base level (physiological needs) of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, so housing is always a big election issue. The hierarchy:
👉️ Property Council – housing crisis too serious for Green’s unserious ideas - LINK
Our comment: What are the price rise mechanisms in the proposed BTR model suggested? What prevents the development owner—most likely a Private Equity Firm or REIT—from modelling predictable rent increases at rates that suit the portfolio returns they demand? Are renters forced to use utility companies that provide rebates or kickbacks to developers? Are renters obligated to engage specific companies for maintenance, servicing, or other needs?
It seems unlikely that the developers’ shareholders would not push for increasing returns. How can there be stable rents for BTR consumers when the development is owned by a private, shareholder-driven company? These two objectives—shareholder returns and stable rents—seem mutually exclusive. In a capital-driven marketplace, the idea of predictable long-term stable rents doesn’t appear to align logically.
Long story short: I keep coming back to the same question about BTR—who really benefits, and who pays? If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is, and there’s always a catch. What frustrates me is the lack of real discussion about the details and mechanisms behind BTR. It feels like the narrative is just, “It will fix things, so let’s go for it,” without any critical examination of how it actually works or who really benefits. My spider senses are tingling when BTR is mentioned - maybe I need more hydration?
17th November 2024
Experts want abandoned and empty homes made available to ease housing shortage burden - LINK
‘Flippant’: Greens’ housing scheme demands draw ire - LINK
Victorian affordable housing tenants say issues with overflowing rubbish, broken door met with slow response - LINK
Federal election: Looming problem in key battleground seats - LINK
NSW Government to launch new Housing Delivery Authority to boost housing supply - LINK
Developers welcome Queensland government suspending Best Practice Industry Conditions amid 'constructability crisis' - LINK
Inside highway town Plainland's housing boom after Woolworths set up shop - LINK
A guide to investing in aged care and retirement living - LINK
18th November 2024
Premier’s planning surprise slammed by LGNSW - LINK
👉️ Housing Australia: Denser cities, or spread to urban fringe and regions? - LINK
Our comment: we wrote a post about this November 2023 titled: Less land more problems, how developers and councils fail modern families - LINK
Anthony Painter
Council pays $6.3m for land, plans to move depot and sell major town block for housing - LINK
4 Ways Trump’s Win Could Affect the Housing Market in 2025 - LINK
Our comment: Actuality is a term that comes to mind.
Morning Report - LINK
👉️ John McGrath – McGrath Report: Housing redefined: Family ties and growing pains - LINK
Our comment: an interesting (easy) read outlining the current state of the market from the authors perspective
Services overwhelmed as 3 million at risk of becoming unhoused, says Homelessness Australia report - LINK another link with different commentary on the same report LINK
19th November 2024
Residential Focus: Return to section 54 and home warranty insurance - LINK
Excerpt from article: "The owners in Drummond were left without recourse. The decision serves as a reminder to notify a loss promptly and properly, even if a trigger event has not occurred."
RICS Q3 2024: mixed outlook for Australia’s construction sector - LINK
Housing industry demolishes Labor’s construction targets - LINK
Sydney House takes shape in the heart of the CBD - LINK
New luxury development set to redefine Sydney’s skyline - LINK
Development application filed for six-building precinct in Sydney - LINK
Gold Coast council rejects plans for housing estate on abandoned Arundel Hills golf course - LINK
Labor faces fresh demands in final push to pass housing programs - LINK
Housing plea as millions more at risk of being homeless - LINK
👉️ Sustainable high-density living: Lessons from public housing - LINK
Our comment: given the relative poor quality of methods incorporated in construction over the last 20 years, redeveloping structural sound older buildings sounds like a much better solution than demo and redo. Why not give older buildings a new lease of life? Similarly, underutilised office space in CBD areas should be redeveloped into residential. Parking has been designed into the building occupancy already, which will most likely be less than the occupancy of an office building, so they seem like a logical place to look to redevelop to provide new housing stock from.
👉️ Transforming ageing housing: A sustainable approach to housing development - LINK
20th November 2024
Where to secure house and land in Sydney under $1.1 million - LINK
How well is Labor doing on meeting its bold housing policy promises? - LINK
Home building through the pandemic - LINK
$900m productivity fund targets housing - LINK
👉️ Victorian Government to enact major changes to the Security of Payment regime - LINK
Chain Valley Bay intersection upgrade to unlock more housing - LINK
Learn And Earn: Call For Aspiring Home Energy Assessors - LINK
Sustainability, heritage and boundary-pushing are this year’s winners of the National Architecture awards - LINK
Apartment demand on the rise as housing affordability slips further - LINK
ANZ CoreLogic Housing Affordability Report 2024 - LINK
Blaming international students for the housing crisis a fact free zone: Student Accommodation Council - LINK
Our comment: I don't believe anyone is blaming international students. They're a valuable economic resource for our universities. The real conversation is about overall net overseas migration, which hit record highs after the pandemic (over 500,000 in 2022–23, according to the ABS). Students need temporary accommodation, but permanent migration needs permanent housing stock, and that's where the real pressure lies.
‘Basically impossible’: Housing affordability is the worst on record - LINK
Housing crisis pundits ignore number one solution - LINK
Our comment: It would be fantastic if local councils could contribute by creating more parking in residential areas. Improving parking availability and enhancing road throughput would make it much easier to increase housing density, particularly in newer areas (less than 25 years old). A little co-contribution and practical assistance from councils would go a long way—better than just taking a shot in the dark and hoping for the best!
WA’s housing and homelessness crisis the worst the sector has ever seen - LINK
Residential focus – In the media; published articles, papers and reports; cases and legislation - LINK
👉️ Ashak Nathwani: Defeating Mr CO2 and building carbon-conscious homes
Our comment: some great tips in this article!
Melbourne rental vacancy rate rises 30 per cent in a year as tenants ditch landlords | PropTrack - LINK
21st November 2024
Construction starts on Castle Hill’s largest residential masterplan - LINK
SEC to build solar farm to power more than 50,000 homes - LINK
Construction to start on luxury $3.8b Perth housing development - LINK
👉️ Australia’s housing crisis reaches a tipping point - LINK
Article excerpt: “Kids don’t want to work manual jobs anymore. They’d prefer to work at McDonald’s or at Woolworths stacking shelves.
Preparing Sydney’s north-west for growth - LINK
👉️ Decade On, Cladding Defects Persist After Fire - LINK
Article excerpt: Our research finds change is needed in four key areas. Design and construction, 2. Regulation and compliance, Quality assurance systems, 4. Consumer protection and support
Our comment: project and construction management plans & methods/processes require builders to detail how they will discharge their responsibilities & duties in these areas. They don't have to be war and peace sized management plans but they do need to be in place, executed and managed properly. The bigger the company/turnover, the greater the need to have proper project and construction management systems (including safety management).
👉️ Government tells Future Fund to invest in climate and housing but preserve focus on returns - LINK
Australians need more of their income than ever before to pay for rent, mortgage repayments - LINK
👉️ Housing affordability declines further in 2024: ANZ-CoreLogic report - LINK
Nearly 100 disability homes being built in state’s biggest hotspots - LINK
Victoria housing crisis: Social housing left beind in state government’s 800,000 new home goal - LINK
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