HomeMate.com.au

Master Builders Australia, the peak building and construction industry, has called on the banks to pass on in full the 100 basis point reduction in the cash rate by the central bank. The group said there is no case for the banks to withhold the benefits of lower interest rates to both households and builders. [...]

Shoddy builder complaints soared to a record 5669 in Queensland last year. This is up nearly 25 per cent in 12 months, with 28 builders barred for life. The Building Services Authority said most complaints related to bungled plasterboard installation, defective tiling, leaking roofs and cracks in concrete paths and driveways. There also were complaints [...]

Jobs will determine how well the housing sector rides out the financial turmoil, according to Housing Industry of Australia. Falling interest rates and increased grants have helped boost interest in buying a new home but fear of losing their job has kept many buyers waiting in the wings. Melissa Ketchell’s Public Property blogMr Dale told [...]

Insurers want building materials to be more resilient to Climate change, the subsequent damage that it will do to homes in the future. They have warned of constructing “increasingly brittle” buildings that will be harder to insure given the risk of extreme weather. It says existing building codes say nothing about the effect of hail [...]

Home land development giant Lend Lease Corporation depends on selling assets in this tough market. 25 per cent of Lend Leases profits every year came from asset sales it developed for sale around the world. But selling assets was tougher than usual because of the global finance credit crunch. The group wrote another $490 million [...]