Despite industry conditions remaining more or less the same, builders expect a recovery soon based on answers compiled in the survey conducted by Master Builders Australia.

Master Builders Australia Chief Economist, Peter Jones, said: “The latest survey results show builders cautiously optimistic about their own business circumstances and the health of the Australian building and construction industry in 2011.”

“Builders expect activity to improve even though their own business conditions remained essentially unchanged during the December quarter and most of the survey’s business expectations indicators remain well below their recent peaks.”

Display center inquiries fell in the December quarter, albeit at a slower rate than in the previous quarter, and sales followed a similar pattern. Builders’ backlog of work on the books remained remarkably resilient but can be expected to suffer as government stimulus work dries up.

“Encouragingly, the results of this survey indicate that builders are now less likely to reduce their workforce in the period ahead,” Jones said. “Both residential and non-residential sectors remained below par in the December quarter, although builders may be becoming slightly more ambivalent than first thought about the prospect of losing schools and social housing projects over the next six months.”

Any further increase in interest is perceived as a negative by the industry since it will impact forward orders.”

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