The costs of replacing damaged homes in the flooded areas of south-east Queensland and northern NSW could rise at least 20 per cent because of a shortage of skilled labour and materials.
The costs of replacing a damaged home in the flooded areas of south-east Queensland and northern NSW could rise at least 20 per cent by the time work starts, as the shortage of skilled labour and materials escalates, experts say.
“In the past significant events, individual building element costs can increase by as much as 300 per cent and labour rates for specialist trades doubling or more for long periods after the event. These rates are partly a factor of the event’s location and distance to major centres.”is still being assessed, a total of 26,000 homeowners in the flooded areas have already made insurance claims, IAG says.
“We have already seen a rise of around 10 per cent in construction costs in these areas due to a massive pent-up demand,” he said. “Given the recent storms and floods, there will be variance in costs and availability due to this surge in demand,” said Stuart Tucker, chief customer officer at hipages. “I can’t see a lot of these homes being replaced quickly even if they have been cleaned up and demolished. I think it’s going to take probably two or three years really to get through this backlog now.”