There may be a building boom, but a shortage of materials and subcontractors is said to be making it difficult for smaller building companies to complete projects.
Registered Master Builders Association chief executive David Kelly said that having to try to store up materials several months in advance of a job had been putting pressure on small building firms. “The fear for small builders is that they don’t have the cash flow to purchase and store those materials ahead of time, and consumers are not willing to pay that far ahead either.”
Kelly said the building industry had likely hit capacity in terms of the number of available workers and availability of materials. “I think it would be hard to build any more houses than what is being built now. To increase the output there would have to be a change in method, such as building offsite.”
