Demand for new homes slowing, says Warrnambool builder

Steve Giblin, from Giblin Family Homes, said there were skills shortages in a number of trades.

He said some of the areas included plumbing and plastering and the issue could add time to completing a new home.

Mr Giblin said he was lucky to have two qualified builders and two apprentices working for him.

However, he said "carpenters certainly aren't growing on trees".

Mr Giblin said uncertainty about the state's plan for housing was also deterring some buyers.

"I haven't seen a lot of new homes come through the door in the past four or five months," he said.

Mr Giblin said there were fewer people choosing to become a qualified tradesperson than in years gone by.

"A trade was probably more highly regarded when I started than what it is now," he said.

The federal government is addressing the skills shortage, through its fee-free TAFE enrolments.

Construction attracted almost 21,000 enrolments in the first six months.

However, the Housing Industry Australia (HIA) has reported the shortage of skilled trades people remains acute.

HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt said builders were finding it increasingly difficult to find sufficient skilled trades people to undertake building works.

He said the return of overseas workers had helped ease the shortage slightly.

"Despite this improvement over the past year, the most recent reading highlights how Australia's home building sector continues to be constrained by some of the most acute shortages of skilled tradespeople on record.

"The RBA's steep interest rate increases since May 2022 have seen the volume of new work entering the pipeline slowing significantly.

"This resulted in Australia commencing just 25,390 new houses in the June Quarter 2023, to be one of the weakest quarters of the last decade.

"This fall in the volume of new home starts will ease the acute shortage of skilled trades people, over the next year as the volume of homes under construction continues to slow."

The Standard recently reported first home buyers were choosing to buy established homes rather than build a new house.

"The mindset, driven by negative experiences of the heated rental market and the still elevated building costs and wait time has resulted in a loosening of the previously strict criteria of wants in their first property," a report by valuers Herron Todd White revealed.

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