Australia’s $11 billion renovations market is at the start of its first significant downturn in a decade amid a broader construction crunch and as interest rate increases and rising costs crimp spending on building.

On Monday, GWA Group, one of the country’s largest suppliers of bathroom and kitchen products, said it expected its renovations segment to remain subdued until at least the middle of next year. The company behind brands like Caroma, Clark, Dorf and Methven said, based on projections by BIS Oxford Economics, the market would slide by 8 per cent over the year.