How a change of thinking could save time and money for new WA home builds

A change in the way Western Australians think about developing houses has the potential to reduce wait times and save money when it comes to building a new home, according to one property professional.

According to a 2024 Curtin Economics Centre report, double brick remains the dominant method for detached housing in WA.

However, Perth Home Brokers founder Nitesh Jha believes the method is slow to build, heavily reliant on skilled labour and far more expensive than modern alternatives.

“In Perth, many people still think a home isn’t solid unless it’s double-brick,” he said.

“Right now, the problem is people are obsessed with double brick, and that might not be the best choice for certain people.

“Even when modern framed homes outperform brick in insulation and speed, the perception remains.”

Jha said people looking to build a new home should consider alternatives including brick veneer, steel frame and modular construction

The “Building the Dream” report states that nearly two thirds of the total external wall area of WA’s new Class 1 houses were double brick in 2023 - far more than any other jurisdiction - with single brick accounting for a further 12 per cent of the state’s total external wall area.

“The dominance of brick construction is increasingly being challenged, with timber or steel frames put forward as a more cost-effective, sustainable, and energy efficient construction solution,” the report reads.

“Building methods in WA need to strike a balance between traditional and new approaches that deliver on multiple objectives of increased housing diversity, a greater share of smaller, more affordable units, and a progressively greater level of environmental sustainability both in the production and construction phases of a building as well as the use phase over the building’s entire life cycle.”

Jha said another major concern for choosing a double-brick home in Western Australia is the supply of the materials and the cost of labour.

In 2020, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was brought in to look at the BGC’s proposed purchase of Midland Brick from Hesperia and CFC group over concerns it would lead to a competition-crushing brickmaking giant.

However, the ACCC gave the deal the green light and Commissioner Stephen Ridgeway said the acquisition was not opposed because it was likely Midland Brick would have shut down anyway.

Jha said the limited number of local companies supplying bricks added to the cost and wait time for a double-brick home.

“A bricklayer charges $3.20 a brick these days. An average house needs 12,000 bricks, so that’s literally $45,000 that you have to pay to a bricklayer for two and a half weeks of the job,” he said.

“When you multiply that across thousands of homes, you can see why construction costs have exploded and why builds are taking so long to complete.”

Jha said while he understood the reasoning behind people choosing to build double-brick homes, and his company still builds them, he thinks those looking to develop a new property should be aware of quicker and cheaper alternatives.

“Brick was a better option for WA because brick was built in WA, and that created a lot of employment, he said.

“But now framing is faster - you can have a slab down to lock up in maximum two weeks to three weeks.

“My view is that people should look for the method that gets them the end results.”