The cost of home building will continue to surge this year, materials manufacturers have warned, keeping the pace of housing construction subdued and exacerbating a tight rental market.
James Hardie on Tuesday said the volume of plasterboard and cladding sold in Australia and New Zealand had declined by 10 per cent “due to the slowdown in the ... housing market”, but revenues had increased 2 per cent as the company pushed through price increases of 12 per cent to its customers in the March quarter.