WHY THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY MUST ADAPT TO A CHANGING MARKET
By Pete Robbins, General Manager, Centurion Framing Systems
I’ve worked in residential construction in Western Australia long enough to know one thing:
Brick isn’t just a building material here, it’s identity.
Drive through the suburbs of Perth and you’ll see it everywhere, double brick homes that represent stability, permanence and tradition. It’s what most of us grew up in. It’s what our parents trusted.
And when something works for decades, you don’t question it. Until the environment changes.
What we are exploring in this article
In this piece, we unpack the growing pressure on residential construction in Western Australia and why it’s forcing a shift in how we think about traditional building methods. You’ll learn:
- How the market is changing
- The realities builders are now facing
- How alternative structural systems, such as steel framing, are a response to changing conditions.
THE REALITY CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES FACE IN THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN BUILDING INDUSTRY
We are no longer building in the conditions we were 20 or 30 years ago.
Build times have stretched.
Trades’ production capacities have declined.
Holding costs for developments are rapidly increasing.
The housing shortage in Western Australia is visible; Families are waiting longer to move in, builders are juggling unpredictable schedules, and developers are carrying projects longer than planned.
The pressure isn’t about whether Double Brick works. It’s about whether the way we’ve always built can keep up with the pace we now require.
WHY MUST THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY ADOPT NEW BUILDING METHODS IN A CHANGING MARKET?
In our industry, change doesn’t happen because we’re adventurous. It happens because we need to adapt to new environments.
Construction has traditionally been slow to evolve, and for good reason. When we build homes, the stakes are high and reliability matters.
But when labour shortages, supply constraints and demand collide, sticking rigidly to tradition can quietly become part of the bottleneck.
That’s the uncomfortable part of this conversation.
PREDICTABLE CONSTRUCTION GIVES BUILDERS AN EDGE
Let me be clear, this isn’t about dismissing double brick construction. Double Brick has shaped the WA landscape for generations. But it is also labour-intensive. It relies heavily on sequential trades. It builds strength through laying one brick at a time.
In a constrained market, time equals cost. Cost to builders, homeowners, suppliers, you name it!
With many steel-framed homes still aesthetically presenting with Brick Veneer. The change to steel framing happens behind the face walls on construction sites.
With in-house factory precision manufacturing, faster installation on site, less dependency on trades, steel framing introduces predictability into a system that has become increasingly unpredictable.
And in this market, predictability is valuable!
WHY ADOPTING NEW METHODS DOESN’T ABANDON TRADITIONAL RELIABILITY
This isn’t a “steel versus brick” argument. It’s a capacity conversation.
If Western Australia needs more homes delivered efficiently, we must look at every lever available and structural methodology is at the core of that shift.
No one is suggesting we stop building with double brick. It is time we shift the mindset of double brick as the default structural system to being one option among several.
All industries evolve when external pressure forces innovation and our building industry has been at one of those moments for a while now.
As a General Manager working closely with builders across Western Australia, I see the strain, I also see the opportunity.
The opportunity is bigger than material choice. It’s an opportunity to evolve when conditions change.
Western Australia’s housing challenge isn’t temporary. The increasing demand, workforce pressure, cost volatility are all structural realities, not short-term disruptions.
So, the argument isn’t: “This is what we have always done”.
It’s “how can we deliver more homes, consistently, with the same workforce?”
And that’s a conversation worth having!
Key Takeaways
- Construction companies need to understand the new market conditions that put pressure on traditional approaches.
- The construction industry needs to consider alternative building methods to adapt to new market changes.
- New methods, such as steel framing, are providing a range of benefits that address emerging pressures.
- Adopting new methods doesn’t replace traditional double brick methods.
- The core challenge for the industry is clear: how to deliver more homes efficiently with the same workforce.
ADAPT TO A CHANGING MARKET WITH STEEL FRAMING TODAY!
The strength, design flexibility, and installation time of steel framing are quickly changing the industry. If you’d like to learn more, our team are eager to answer all of your questions. Get in touch with Centurion Framing Systems today!
