Despite posting an $80 million recovery, Brad Duggan, CEO of Metricon—Australia’s largest homebuilder—has issued a sharp expert opinion: the construction industry remains on shaky ground.
After narrowly avoiding collapse, Metricon restructured its operations and finances, but Duggan warns the issues that caused over 7,000 builder failures still loom large. Soaring input costs, worsened by the pandemic and global conflicts, drove a 45% rise in material prices within 18 months. Labor shortages, regulatory hurdles, and outdated practices continue to choke the industry’s ability to meet growing housing demands.
Duggan pointed out that while some are optimistic about AI and modular technologies revolutionizing construction, these tools are not yet cost-effective at scale. “AI and prefabrication have promise, but they’re not a silver bullet,” he stated. Productivity levels today are half of what they were in 1995, and build times remain long due to limited skilled manpower.
He called for urgent investment in R&D, regulatory reform, and workforce development to address Australia’s widening housing gap. Without bold innovation and support from both government and industry, Duggan warns, national housing targets will likely remain out of reach.
