Queensland builders hit by activity snags in last quarter
Queensland's construction industry has been on the decline for the past three months as a new report by the Queensland Master Builders Association (QMBA) showed on Thursday that up to 75 percent of polled businesses believed that building activity would either decline or stabilise in the coming 12 months.
The same survey also found that more than 30 percent of business players have admitted that their companies' work levels were far below from projections with the promise of better profits further sliding in the last quarter.
QMBA Mackay-Whitsunday regional manager Malcolm Hull, however, challenged the figures as he pointed that the state's strong population growth and better demand for housing were indicators that "the confidence of the building industry is up higher than all the other areas of Queensland."
Mr Hull admitted though that other areas of the region were not doing as good as he specified that building activities in Gold Coast and Cairn were down by 20 percent while generally the state is looking at some encouraging numbers, where gains were posted from 50 percent to a high of 55 percent.
He said that the local industry has been witnessing some serious impediments on its effort to grow further as he cited that "financial availability has been a major issue since the global economic crisis."
Mr Hull lamented that financial institutions are much more scrutinising now in determining borrowers' capacity in repaying debts aside from the fact that "banks aren't lending as much, particularly for commercial development.
He added that many developers have become frustrated by the situation and as for now, very few options are available for them to cope with the current difficult environment.