Why now is the time to lock in your build cost
Queensland's construction sector is heading into its busiest decade on record, and the numbers behind that boom point to one thing for anyone planning a build: prices are more likely to rise from here than fall.
That demand is landing on an industry that is already short of people to deliver it. The same report shows the construction sector needs to lift output to around $1.29 million per person to meet funded work alone, rising to $1.54 million per person once credibly proposed projects are included, and as high as $1.66 million per person across the total pipeline. Current productivity sits at $0.70 to $0.82 million per person, roughly half what is required. To close that gap through labour alone, the workforce would need to grow from about 15,400 people today to somewhere between 19,000 and 41,000, depending on how much of the pipeline proceeds.
Queensland's broader labour market backs this up. Data from the Department of Trade, Employment and Training shows the state's participation rate sitting at 81.3 per cent, the highest on record, while unemployment on the Sunshine Coast is just 3.2 per cent. Construction is already the region's second-largest employing industry, accounting for 12 per cent of local jobs, a bigger share than the state average. State-wide, the department's projections show the construction workforce needs to grow by close to 23,000 additional workers by 2034, on top of around 67,000 people needed just to replace those leaving the industry, with residential building construction alone accounting for over 6,000 of the additional roles. On the Sunshine Coast, residential building construction is projected to add around 750 jobs in the same period, more than any other construction category in the region.
Training numbers are moving in the right direction, apprentice and trainee participation was up 7.7 per cent over the past financial year, with more than 64,000 students in construction-related training, but building a skilled workforce takes years, not months. In the meantime, more work is chasing the same pool of tradespeople, materials and subcontractors, and that combination has historically pushed build costs up rather than down.
For anyone with a build on the horizon, this is the backdrop that matters. Locking in pricing now means securing today's rates before the labour shortage and pipeline growth work their way through to tomorrow's quotes.
Get in now to lock in 2026 pricing. Secure your build at current cost, and build with certainty.
Saltair has spent more than a decade turning that kind of market pressure into an advantage for its clients. With design, manufacturing, delivery and installation all managed in-house across its Coolum and Brisbane facilities, Saltair controls its own supply chain and its own workforce, insulating clients from some of the volatility playing out across the broader industry. That control is what allows Saltair to hold current pricing for builds locked in now, before 2026 rates take effect.