Australia’s detached home builders will go into the New Year facing a fierce battle for new work after clearing their decks of HomeBuilder and other incentive-driven projects, and as higher costs push down the pipeline of new orders to its lowest in more than a decade.

After 12 months in which ASX-listed Simonds Group and Tamawood, foreign-owned players such as Henley and Rawson and privately owned NEX Building Group and Burbank posted a mixed bag of results, the lowest commencement tally since FY2013 would test builders, the Housing Industry Association said.